No Going Back
by REN4488X
Summary: Set before the events of the game, female patient Vera Nagy suspects foul play. With rumors of crude experiments spreading around the asylum, she develops a perilous determination to get to the bottom of it. But can she do so without gaining the attention of high ranking Murkoff Personnel?
1. More than a Hunch

**I do not own Mount Massive Asylum or David Annapurna. They are owned by Red Barrel, but I do own Vera, Pamela, and John.**

Chapter 1: More Than A Hunch

"Something bad is going on here! Can't you tell, Vera?" My roommate Pammy said as she took a bite of her old, stale corn. "Yeah, I think so too." I responded after swallowing a big chunk of beef that was rough and hard to chew.

Pammy and me were sitting in the cafeteria that was located in the male ward, picking at pieces of our barely edible lunches. My God, the food there was just terrible! Always bland and stale, tasted like it was served five days after it was made.

As a result, I've lost fifteen pounds-fifteen pounds in only two weeks! Now that's really unhealthy, but I guess I can't complain too much since I was a little pudgy before. Oh what I wouldn't give to indulge in a large pizza and a two litter of coke regardless!

Well, it's been two weeks since I've been committed to Mount Massive Asylum. Before then my husband was murdered. I don't know by whom, and as far as I'm concerned this case is still unsolved!

The police however, had the nerve to pin it on me. My husband's killer is still at large, but no-they took the easy way out, and narrowed me down as their suspect! But it couldn't have been me. I have no memory of doing it. When it happened I completely blacked out, but there were other people there.

Two of his friends were there, having drinks and playing card games. They said I did it-that I stabbed him to death, and then ran out of the house! The police said that they found me in my car, which I somehow crashed into a ditch two miles away from my house. I was unconscious they said, covered in blood with an empty bottle of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum resting in the passenger seat, and a bloody kitchen knife laying right next to it.

A murder-suicide they called it. There's no way in hell that I recall any of that! All that I remember was being home, making bratwurst for my husband and his friends after a long day of work at the local hospital. Of all the RN's that worked in that place, I was fortunate enough to be placed in the ER. Hustle and bustle-that's all it fucking was!

But anyway, I was at home with Jim and his friends, and then it happened! What happened? I don't even know. The only thing I remember was waking up to find myself chained to a hospital bed, with a policeman and a nurse sitting at my side. _You've been placed under arrest_ they told me, _for the murder of your husband!_

I told them that I didn't do it. So many times I swore up and down that it wasn't me, but they said I did. The police, Jim's friends, the judge, the doctor, and all of the other staff in this God-forsaken asylum! They all say that I'm crazy, but I'm not crazy.

The doctor called it a severe, manic episode with periods of rapid cycling. I used to be on medication, but then I found out that I no longer needed them. They were doing me more harm than good, and now I feel much better without them.

One day they started burning me from the inside-I mean literally…fucking…burning me inside and out! It got to the point where the muscles in my arms and legs were literally on fire. My arms turned red, and I felt a scorching pain as hot as an oven set to broil, so I stopped taking them. Ever since I stopped taking them, everyone calls me crazy. I'm not crazy! I'm not…!

"Is this seat taken?" A young, scrawny-looking man with a baldhead asked. "No, John. Sit down!" I told him invitingly with a waving gesture of my right, quaky hand. John was a good guy. Although he talked in a slow, awkward manner-and not to mention he heard voices on a daily basis-he actually respected us gals more than most of the male patients did in this place.

"Hey John, have you noticed what's going on here? I mean we're seeing more patients with all of these…deformities!" Pammy stated in a tone just above a whisper. And as she stated that she leaned forward, and moved her hand over her face to illustrate her example of 'deformities'.

John hunched over the table with his elbows resting over the edge, and moved his fork around each stale, piece of beef. "Shit, Pamela! There are talks about experiments being done in the lower levels. Project Walrider they're calling it." He explained, "Has something to do with lucid dreaming…"

"Lucid dreaming?" I interrupted with astonishment to hear something that seemed so unrelated. "What's lucid dreaming?" Pammy asked, chewing corn inside of her grimacing mouth. "It's when you know that you're dreaming when you're asleep." I answered her, "But what does that have to do with all of those disfigurements that these patients have?"

Lucid dreaming didn't make the least bit of sense to me. How on Earth would that cause all of these disfigurements? Oh how my brain ached the longer I tried to figure out the connection there!

"Beats me!" He responded with a shrug, "My roommate was taken down to the lower levels yesterday and I haven't seen him since." John took another bite of his corn after moving the pieces of each serving around the square-shaped, yellow tray with his fork.

"My doctor…every time I see him…and he's been seeing me more in the past few weeks. Keeps mentioning that I would make a great candidate for some 'engine' program. Can't fucking remember the name for the life of me." He mumbled as he dropped his fork, "But he never saw me so often before that, and he never took so much as an interest in my case until recently. It's like he's trying to get me ready for something. I think I'm next!"

Pammy sat back in her chair and shook her head, her curly, blonde locks waving around her greasy face. "Yeah, you know what? My doctor rarely saw me either. Every time I ask to see him, I get blown off. They keep saying that he has other patients to see first." She recalled. "I haven't noticed any women with those scars, have you?" I pointed out.

After two more bites of that rock-hard beef I decided that I was done eating, putting my fork down and folding my arms behind my tray. I tried to remember every single female patient here, considering that there weren't many at all. "No, Vera. None of them have it. Whatever they're doing, it must only be for the men." She responded after taking another bite of her beef.

Pammy and me are two of the fifteen lady patients in this whole asylum, and I've met every single one of them. All of them are bat-shit crazies of course, but it's a real comfort to know that none of them have been through any of those experiments that many of the male patients have. There might be hope for us. Well, at least for now anyway.

"Hey, us women might just be in the clear!" Pammy said chuckling. Unlike her, I did not find that funny one bit. Whether or not this was happening to the female patients, it was still happening to the men, and it shouldn't have been happening at all. Beside, who's to say that it won't expand to female patients in the near-by future?

"It's still not right, Pammy!" I ranted distastefully, "I mean…my doctor won't see me either! Something's definitely wrong! This bullshit shouldn't go on and I have half the mind to find out and do…"

"John, what are you doing over here?" A short, stocky male orderly demanded. I recognized him right away, wearing white scrubs with a nametag that says Annapurna hanging on the right side of his chest. "He's not bothering us, Dave. It's okay!" Pammy reassured him with a hand out in front of him.

"We're all friends, man. I wouldn't do em any harm." John awkwardly chimed in innocently. With a deep, heavy sigh David dropped his protective, authoritative guard. Out of all of the doctors and orderlies in this fucking asylum, he was the only one who actually cared about the patients. The only one who went out of his way to keep us safe-from each other as well as from ourselves. But from the other staff? Well, that's a different story.

"Okay then. I trust you guys. Just had to be sure because this place is full of predators who haven't been with a woman in ages. Just trying to keep you girls safe. No offense, John." He stated apologetically, knowing what a good guy John really was. David began to relax, as that worried look faded away from his tired face.

"I know and we appreciate it! Believe me!" Pammy exclaimed. And that's not an exaggeration. Every day, I got sexual advances from these disgusting, perverted motherfuckers! A female patient was beaten and raped the previous day, and the same thing almost happened to me last week in the male ward.

I however, managed to fight him off, and the fucker ended up with a broken nose. What did I get for it? Two days in the hole is what I got! But the guards did nothing to prevent it; therefore I did what I had to do to save myself. They called it a fight that got out of hand, and the guy got two days in the hole like I did. Like I said-the staff doesn't give a damn about us.

"Hey, Dave! What's going on here?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean there's talks of experiments going on that's making the patients look fucked up! Something's going on around here!" I pressed. David shifted his posture, leaning against an unoccupied chair with his hand resting on the top. His eyes went off to the side as he ran his other hand through his short, brown hair. An uneasy expression marked his face, knowing that our suspicions were truth.

"I…wouldn't worry about it, Guys." He lied, trying to hide his own suspicions with a fake smile and false modesty. "What do you mean 'don't worry about it'?" John burst in a tone that was clearly too loud, "I could be next, Man!"

In a split second, David leaned over the table in a small amount of fury that made Pammy and me jump in our seats. He held out a hand in front of him, and then shifted it to the both of us.

"Shh! Keep your voices down! People are listening!" He scolded as he gritted his teeth. "Sorry, Man. But you do know that something is going on around here, don't you?" John whispered as he leaned over the table closer to the orderly.

Then, David stood up straight, and overwhelmingly rubbed his hand down his face. "Just don't say anything out loud, okay?" He ranted with vexation, "Believe me I'm trying to get to the bottom of it, but Murkoff…"

"Murkoff?" Pammy exclaimed.

"Yeah Murkoff! You know…the people that run this place? You really don't know what they're capable of, so I suggest you all stay quiet!" David retorted, gritting his teeth once more. With a soft slam on the table with his hand, John anxiously countered saying, "But I could be next, Man!"

David leaned forward with a hand out in front of John's face to quiet him once again. "Just trust me, okay?" He softly consoled, "We can't talk about this anymore, so just keep your heads down. I'll do whatever I can to protect you three."

On that discrete note David walked away from our table, looking around to make sure that no one had been listening to our conversation. He quickly went through the doors of the cafeteria and into the male ward.

"I don't like this!" I said to the two of them. "He's on our side, Vera." Pammy stated, attempting to reassure me. "I know, but he just an orderly!" I argued, "We all know that he can't protect us from them! I hate not knowing, and I'm about to…"

"About to what?" She interrupted me in a challenging tone. Pammy leaned against the table with an elbow propped up against it, and her fingers perched up in the air. One of her blonde eyebrows was raised high against her creasing forehead.

Dear God, the secrecy was killing me! I've been in other mental institutions earlier in my life, but they were nothing like this one. In all of those other hospitals that I've been to, there were never any talks of extreme experiments or unfair treatment.

Although all of those other places weren't Asylums for the criminally insane, the staff actually cared about the patients. They didn't just toss us to the side until they found better use for us like this place did.

All of this injustice enraged me, and no matter what was going to happen, I was going to get to the bottom of it! "And I'm fixing to find out what's going on for myself!" I boldly countered her remark in a loud whisper.

"Are you fucking insane? No wait…don't answer that! But look, he said that something bad could happen to us if we get nosey!" Pammy forcefully stated with her index finger pressed against the table.

"He didn't say that!"

"Maybe not in those words, but he was hinting at it!"

"At this point I don't really care!" I retorted in a matter-of-fact attitude. Pammy sat back in her chair, squinted her lips, and crossed her arms in protest to what I just said, but that didn't shoot me down. I've been pushed around enough in this place, and I wanted to expose the bastards for what they really were. I would tell the whole fucking world when I get the chance.

To tell you the truth, I was feeling quite adventurous at that moment, and the thought of this dangerous quest excited me. Call it recklessness, call it a distorted sense of empowerment, or hell-call it an extreme symptom of my manic episode if you will! I didn't care at this point.

"I'm in, honey!" John beamed in his shaky, awkward voice of his. The excited man raised his hand up high in the air right in front of me. With much empowerment, I gave him a high five knowing that at least one other person supported me here.

"I know where we can get a key card to gain access to the lower levels." He discretely offered as he leaned in closer to us. "That's perfect!" I quietly approved with joy, "Well, Pammy? Are you with us or not?"

With a roll of her baby, blue eyes Pammy leaned into the table, and put her hand up in front of us. "Eh, what the hell? Yeah, I'm in!" She said with a smile as we both gave her a high five. So we were really doing this. I couldn't believe it at the time, and it felt so surreal.

Out of two weeks in this hellhole, we were finally getting into some excitement, some adrenaline! No matter how perilous this was we were going to find out what these 'experiments' really were, and there would be no going back.

 **Hope you enjoyed that. I decided to include David Annapurna in this piece of FanFic because he had a very interesting role in attempting to expose Murkoff for what they were doing, which recieved harsh retaliation from Richard Trager. He had his own suspicions just like the characters I created, and I think we can all agree that his account in this game was too brief. Therefore, I wanted to elaborate on this character through my story.**

 **Well, the next few chapters will be coming soon. If anyone would be so kind as to provide a review with tips of improvement, I would be very grateful.**


	2. Snooping Around

Chapter 2: Snooping Around

 **Chris Walker and the Morphogenic Engine belong to Red Barrel. Vera Nagy, Pamela Larkin, John Hawkins belong to me. Enjoy!**

We quietly passed down the hallway, and crept up to the far corner leading to the administration block. Two guards in bright, blue shirts, black cache pants, and a utility belt around their waists were sitting at the middle of an elongated desk that faced the entrance of the asylum. A keycard was lying off to the side of the brown, marble surface.

"There's a keycard on that desk over there!" John whispered with a finger pointing towards the desk. We crouched down beside the corner, and I wondered how on Earth we were going to get that keycard without the guards noticing us. "How are we going to get it without them seeing us?" I asked.

"Oh that's definitely not possible, Vera!" Pammy retorted from behind me. _Nice, Pammy! Way to shoot us down!_ I thought. We were only trying to accomplish something here, and she had to crush it with her sarcastic attitude! "Thanks a lot, Pammy!" I countered as I looked back at her. "No wait! I have an idea." She said hopefully.

Pammy stood up behind me to look out at the desk, hovering over John and me. I could feel her knees and shins against each side of my back. It wasn't uncomfortable; as a matter of fact I appreciated it very much. Call me weird, but I've always been an intimate person who liked this type of contact with people that I had become close to. It was nothing sexual of course, only comfort from a warm touch.

"Okay listen!" She proposed as she knelt down behind me, "I'll distract the guards. They'll probably take me back to my room. When we leave, you guys go get the card!" She'll distract the guards, huh? Pammy made it sound so easy, and I wondered if she took into account the possibility that they'll beat the shit out of her before they 'take her back to her room'. So, for the sake of her well-being, I had to bring that up to her.

"Pammy, you'll get in trouble! They'll probably beat the piss out of you, don't you think?" I protested. "Vera, what do you think they'll do to me that they haven't done already to the both of us? Besides, I'm not feeling up to this little quest, but I want you guys to find out what's going on around here, so I'll put myself in harm's way for you both. You guys go ahead!" She said.

"Are you sure, Honey?" John asked in that gentle, awkward manner of his. "Yeah, sweetie! You know I'd do anything for you both! Just make sure you guys don't get caught before you find out what's going on. Good luck!" Pammy reassured as she stood up.

John and me watched as she stepped around the corner, and skipped-literally skipped over towards the front doors. She carelessly hummed a tune, and tilted her head from side to side as she went right past the guards. Man, Pammy knew how to up the setting on her crazy meter when she needed to!

The dumbfounded guards did a double take in her direction as she passed before clumsily rising to their feet. "Hey! Hey, what do you think you're doing?" One of them shouted. They both carefully moved towards her, pulling their PR-24's out from the holsters on their hips.

Pammy stepped right in front of the door, and turned around to look at the guards. "I just want to go for a stroll!" She answered innocently with a shrug. "Oh, I don't think so, Sweetheart! Now get back from the door!" The other one commanded. The guards continued to advance until each of them were on standing in a direction diagonal to each side of her. With their PR-24's in hand, they waited for her to make her next move.

In an instant, she dashed towards a nearby desk, picked up a thick folder full of papers, and chucked it at the guard on her right. "Here's an idea! How about you both fuck off!" She taunted as she picked up another folder, and threw it at the other guard.

In a matter of seconds, both men rushed over to the Pammy who was victorious prancing around the front entrance. The one on the right reached her first. He grabbed her arm, and forced it behind her back with the baton pressed against her joints.

She was forced to the ground, lying flat on her stomach with the guard's knee pressed on top of the back of her hips, and the baton entangled with her arm. "Here's another idea, Bitch!" The other guard countered as he knelt down next to her.

Without warning, he took his PR-24 and jabbed it right into her ribcage. "Ugh!" She grunted in pain. Pammy raised her head off of the ground, and turned it towards the guard who lowered his head to her ear. "How about you watch who the _fuck_ you're talking to!" He growled. "You, Dick!" Pammy remarked back through heavy breathes and gritted teeth.

"Wow that was unnecessary!" I spoke softly in dismay. Truth be told, I can't really say that I'm surprised. That's just the kind of treatment that us patients get from the guards on a daily basis. I mean God forbid that us mentally unfortunate souls should ever take a crack at these asshole's egos! "She took one for the team, Vera." John sighed in admiration, "We owe her."

Finally, the guards pulled her up to her feet. "Alright, get up!" The one on her right demanded, "You're going to the hole!" They barely gave Pammy a chance to move her feet as they dragged her towards the small door on the left. "Now's our chance!" John said, "Let's go!"

Right before the guards made their way through the door with Pammy, John and me quietly ran towards the long desk. I stopped five feet five away, ducking to make sure that no one else was here. At that moment, right as the guards emerged through the door, they said something else that briefly stool my attention away from the keycard.

"Hey, wait a minute! Forget the hole, Man! Let's give her to Gluskin for the day. You know, give him a new bride." One of them suggested with a sinister tone. "Yes! Great idea, Mike! That twisted fucker's been acting up lately. A little pussy might calm him down!" The other one agreed with a chuckle.

"Gluskin?" I uttered to myself. Oh shit, something bad was about to happen to Pammy, and we were the ones who got her into this in the first place! And who was this 'Gluskin" guy? "John, who's Gluskin?" I asked as I went up to him and tugged on his arm. John dashed over to the spot where the keycard was, and snatched it off of the surface.

"What?" He responded.

"Who's Gluskin, John?" I asked once again in a small panic.

"Don't worry about that!" He answered as he grabbed my arm, "let's go, okay? Before they come back!"

"But…!"

With strength that outmatched my own, John pulled me over towards the opposite hallway located diagonally to the desk. We stopped at the corner of the entrance. The frame was encased with glass surrounded by a wooden frame forming rectangles over the doorway.

Dying light bulbs faintly brightened each section of the hallway, shining from the middle of the ceiling. John stayed in front of me, and he didn't seem to mind my hand resting on the back of his shoulder.

"Okay, the coast is clear!" He announced. We stood up, stepped around corner, and ventured into the vacant hallway. As far as we knew it was vacant, but there were still many doors on the side that could've had people behind them.

As we moved down the corridor, we hovered over the ground and took light steps, ensuring that anyone who might have been behind those doors wouldn't hear us. With my right hand still resting on his shoulder, I kept looking behind us. To our luck, no one was there.

By the time we reached the middle of the corridor, we immediately stopped at the faint sound of heavy chains rattling together. "Someone's coming!" I loudly whispered. John spotted a wooden door beside us on the left that was cracked open; allowing a small ray of light from the hallway to barley radiate the dark, narrow space.

"In here!" He beamed. His bony fingers circled around the brown fabric on my arm. With a brash push on the door, he pulled me into the dark room. John pivoted around a corner, and swung me around behind him.

I quickly looked around the room. There was nothing but an unoccupied desk placed cattycornered along a wall where a bay window was built into the middle. It faced the doorway, running parallel to the wall that we leaned against.

Black metal bars were built in front of the glass, which seemed to block any route of escape from this asylum, or possibly preventing someone from killing themselves. Either way, this place was locked down pretty tight all together, considering that you wouldn't find a single window without bars over it.

The moonlight shined in through the bars, forming a group of tiny, luminous squares over the ground in front of the window. Rattling from the chains got louder, which stole my attention away from the room. A shadow of a man began to appear, stretching out along the far walls of the corridor and coming closer to our room.

He was a huge man with a baldhead, massive arms, and a large, round belly. Heavy chains hung from his neck, wrists, and ankles with orderlies on the ends of them. They walked alongside the man, seeming to watch his every move, and holding the large links in their hands.

Finally, a guard appeared around the corner. With a PR-24 in his hands he walked backwards, keeping his eye on the man that shuffled alongside of four orderlies around the corner. Making soft, grunting noises, he slowly strolled in a stupor between the apprehensive orderlies. He was well over 6'5. From this distance his round face was a blur of red, smeared spots, and a wide grin full of teeth.

It wouldn't take a genius to determine that five averaged-sized men would clearly not be able to restrain a man of that size. No, they must have drugged him with fairly large doses of some powerful sedative. Otherwise those meek looking men would be in trouble.

"Oh, shit!" John softly exclaimed in dread, "It's Walker!"

"Who's Walker?" I asked over John's shoulder. "He's ex-military, served in Afghanistan. One day he decided to tear off his own face! Word is he thinks it helps him see better or something. The guy is fucking intense! Wouldn't ever want to be on his radar!" He quietly explained as he looked back at me over his shoulder.

"He tore his own face off? How…oh!" I stopped in surprise as I looked over his shoulder. He was now close enough for me to see the mutilated features of his face. The pink flesh on his forehead was shaped like a tiny, distorted balloon. There were no lids that could close over his ripped, saucer-shaped sockets. I guess you could say that the man slept with his eyes open-if he even slept at all.

Through the smeared, red circled on the middle of his face, you could see two, small holes in the space where his nose should have been. I tried to force myself from gaging as he came close enough to show his large, grotesque smile that only comprised of his yellow teeth and gums.

Oh God, his gums were so discolored! They were no longer pink, and as a matter of fact, I couldn't really tell which color they were now. Hard to believe, right? But no, this was real all right. I was actually staring at a man who had literally ripped his own face off! How could he function and perform essential activities on a daily basis, you ask? Like eating for example? Well, that's a really good question.

We hid behind the corner of the room as they passed by. All we could hear were the heavy breathing from the tense orderlies, rattling of the chains, and deep, grunting sounds coming through Walker's exposed teeth. "Easy boys!" One of them said, "We still got a long way to go!"

My God, I would never _ever_ want to run into him! I'm sure that he could swallow someone of my 5'4 stature whole. Could at least tear someone's arms clean off with ease if he wanted to. Man, I hated to imagine what he was like when he wasn't sedated!

"You're fucking right, John! I would _not_ want to be on his radar either!" I muttered with a soft chuckle. "Fucking right, Honey!" He responded as he looked back at me over his shoulder. Nevertheless, I had a feeling that it would not be the last time that we would ever see Chris Walker.

I rested my chin against his shoulder right beside my hand. With a heavy sigh of comfort, he reached around and placed his hand on mine. The rattling of the chains got softer and softer with each passing second, which made me hopeful that they were reaching the end of the corridor.

"Do you think they're gone?" I innocently asked with my chin still resting against the top of his scapula. "Let me see!" He whispered as I lifted my head up. John carefully glanced around the corner, looking left and right to make sure the coast was clear. "Yep, no one's there! Let's go!"

We stood up, stepped around the corner, and silently dashed into the hallway. The light briefly strained my eyes for a moment from being in that dark room. It caught me off balance, but I adjusted quickly after a few seconds. I stayed behind John as we came upon a corner, and ducked down beside it. A much shorter corridor was revealed.

It was darker with one dimming florescent light bulb that barely brightened up the murky spaces. A metal door stood thirty feet away with an electronic lock on the side. "The keycard should get us through the door, right?" I asked hopefully. "Hope so." John said as he stood up, and pulled the keycard out of his pocket.

I followed him as he approached the door, and held his right ear against the cold metal. "Sounds like no one's coming. Here goes!" He announced as he held the card up to the reader.

At the sound of a loud beep, the small glowing bulb on the top switched from red to green. John pulled the heavy door open, went through, and held it open for me. I noticed that his arm quivered against door's weight, so I passed through quickly. As I squeezed my way through, the cold metal brushed against my bare arms, and the brown fabric zipped over my breasts.

Once I was completely through he let go of the door. It made a soft clank that echoed along the walls of a steep staircase. The walls were as white as snow, and a bright, florescent light illuminated the square-shaped space on the bottom of the stairs. Unfortunately we couldn't see beyond that.

We silently went down each, metal step, mindful of the possibility that there might be someone down at the bottom. By the time we reached the last five steps, John spotted two people standing outside of a door made entirely of glass. He stopped with an arm held out in front of my waist.

Luckily, they didn't spot us. They were standing together staring down at a clipboard before they stepped through the door. A wide, white hallway lay before us, with many sliding doors made of glass, which provided views into small labs. Two yellow stripes ran parallel to each other on each ends of the floor all the way down the hall. The air was brisk and cool, and it felt like being in an icy cave.

My concern was how this place was constructed. How open everything was, and how little cover we had to hide from personnel down here. "Judging by the looks of this place, we might be seen." I whispered to John. "Probably, but I didn't come all of this way to quit! Let's make a run for it! We'll be quiet and swift." He said with determination.

As I stated before, John usually talked in a meek, awkward tone, but now he had a new confident attitude that I'd never seen before. He knew that we might get caught-hell I knew it too! But no matter what he wasn't going to back down.

John wanted to get to the bottom of it and so did I. His confidence continued to empower me. We were both on a mission-a dangerous mission, but an important one nonetheless. At that point, there was no going back.

So we decided to make a run for it. We hovered over and lightly jogged down the hallway, trying to be light on our feet. I kept looking from side to side to see if anyone in the labs saw us, but John kept his eyes ahead.

A couple of people turned their heads in our direction, probably spotting us as we passed by. "I think a few people saw us!" I urgently brought to his attention. "Just keep moving! Don't mind them right now!" John encouraged.

I kept heaving from running through this cold, heavy air. Running just wasn't my sport, but at the same time, I didn't want to get caught just yet. Not after we've come this far.

"Hey, what are you two doing down here?" I heard someone call from behind. Naturally, I stopped to look behind me, but John grabbed my arm and pulled me along. "Don't look back, Vera! Keep going!" He scolded. "Call security!" I heard someone say as we swung ourselves around a corner on the right.

"We are now officially in trouble!" I muttered in urgency. A surge of adrenaline rushed through me, and I picked up my pace to a full sprint. I almost passed John as he acquired a speed that outmatched mine. "Through this door!" John called, pointed to a pair of doors forty feet away at the end of the hall.

We reached the end of the corridor and stopped in front of the steel door, hoping that it would open from some motion, activating mechanism. Of course, nothing. "Try the keycard!" I suggested. With a quick swipe of the card, the door slide open and we rushed inside.

We stood on the top of another high staircase, which snaked around a long metal pole that reached 100 feet high with three platforms built into the case after every ten steps. John and me knelt down in front of the railing.

From the top platform we could see a laboratory with a machine planted in the middle. On each side of it were large, spheres made of glass. Each of them faced a large flat screen with abstract images swirling across the screens. They were so bright that you'd get a headache just by looking at them.

"Holy shit!" John exclaimed as he anxiously clenched the railing so tightly. Inside of those spheres were people-male patients hooked up to many tubes that went into their arms, legs, torsos, and even into their mouths and noses.

They were positioned so that their spines were bent backwards so much that their limbs reached far behind their heads. With terror growing inside, I instantly wondered what kind of fluid they were pumping into these guys. It looked so uncomfortable, and it was so unsettling to look at!

So this was what they were doing? These were the crude experiments that made these patients look so disfigured? My God, it could happen to John, Pammy, and me! We could be next! "This is what they've been doing? How do they get away with this?" I ranted in shock and disgust.

"I don't know, but they ain't doing it to me!" He gritted his teeth furiously. "Hey, you two!" Someone called from behind us. John and me shot up to our feet, and turned around to look at a pair of guards standing in the doorway. They looked at both of us with fury in their eyes.

The empowerment that we felt before was fully replaced with terror. We then knew what was really going on in this place. We understood the horror that other patients were going through, and we knew what awaited the both of us. Soon to be forced to participate in these horrifying experiments.

And for what? For the purposes of science and discovery? For some sick, demented, common interest of the company? Or was it for profit? Perhaps these sick bastards were doing it to get rich-all at the cost of the mentally ill. Either way, these bastards deserved to rot in hell!

"Stay right there, both of you!" One of the guards snarled with his baton pointed at us.

Suddenly, John grabbed my arm so roughly, and thrashed me towards the steps. He stayed behind me making sure that I was out of reach of the guards. "Get back here!" The guards shouted. "Where are we going?" I asked.

At this point, I couldn't tell if he was trying to protect me or take me hostage. The way he grabbed me-a manner that wasn't the least bit gentle-took me completely by surprise. "Down these steps!" He said pointing ahead of me, "Hurry, I don't want them to catch you!"

John threw me down five flights of stairs and unto a platform. I hit the surface so hard that my pelvis jammed against the metal. As I looked up, I noticed a door on my right with a card reader built into the wall beside it. It was a convenient escape route, which would hopefully help us to lose the guards.

It was a long shot of course, but it would be one worth taking. "John, over here!" I called as I scrambled to my feet. John looked back from above, and tossed the keycard down towards me.

"Go!" He demanded quietly.

"But…"

Then, the guards advanced on John and tackled him to the ground. One of them violently jabbed him in his side with the PR-24 while the other forced his arm behind his back. In a frenzied manner I picked up the keycard, dashed over to the card reader, opened the door, and pulled it close. If anyone decided to go after me, it would take them longer to unlock the door with a keycard and pull it open; therefore I used that to my advantage.

Desperately hoping that there was no one pursuing me, I decided not to waste a single second, and immediately took off into the dark hallway. I kept looking back to see if the door would open with another guard coming through it. To my luck there was no one, but regardless I quickened my pace to a full sprint, and headed into the blackness of the unfamiliar hallway.

Oh God, John was back there, and lord knows what they were doing to him-what they were going todo to him! I got us in this mess-all three of us, and I was the only one fortunate enough to slip through their fingers. At least for now anyway, but there were no good feelings about what we accomplished here. Only dread in knowing what awaited us. We finally uncovered the ugly truth about this place, and there really was no going back!

 **Don't worry, it doen't end there! There's more to come and the third chapter is underway. Please review and share your thoughts.**


	3. A New Bride

Chapter 3: A New Bride

 **I do not own Eddie Gluskin. He is property of Red Berrel, but I do take ownership for Pamela Larkin and the two guards. Happy Reading!**

I woke up at the first sight of my feet brushing against the cracked, wooden floor after blacking out from the impact of a PR-24 against my head. Everything was hazy, and it took a few good squints for the objects along my peripheral to become clear.

The same motherfucking guards that tackled me, and beat the shit out of me were dragging me down a flight of stairs. Nothing was visible beyond the last few steps, and I was being carried into an unknown, dark abyss. At least that's what it was to me.

"I thought Gluskin's cell was in the Male Ward." One of the guards suggested. "No, Mike. They moved him to the Vocational Block last week. Was getting a little too friendly with the other male patients, so they isolated him." The other one clarified as he loosened his grip on my arm, and put another hand on the wall for support.

The way they were holding me was quite uncomfortable; giving that my weight was being unequally distributed across my shoulders. All of the same, the guards didn't appear to give a shit. "Where are you taking me?" I asked through many grunts of frustration and discomfort. "No talking!" The one on my right snapped.

At that moment, my foot roughly smacked the top of a step. It took a few seconds for the pain to start throbbing in my big toe, and then travel up my ankle. My temper exploded like a pop bottle that had been vigorously shaken. No matter what was about to happen to me, I wasn't going to hold it back.

"Ugh! Watch it, Assholes!"

In a quick, abrupt manner, the guard on my right stopped. I could hear his teeth grinding as a single, heavy breath came out through his nose, barely able to hold back his temper. Did I give a fuck, you ask? Hell no, I was much obliged to make him that mad!

Served him right as far as I was concerned. Even if he decided to beat the shit out of me again, I would've still maintained that level of satisfaction. Call me a troublemaker if you want, because that's exactly what I was.

"It's alright, Mike! Take it easy!" The other one consoled. He took a hand off of my arm and held it out in front of the fuming guard to reassure him as he went on. "She's about to get it real good. You hear that, Baby? We're taking you someplace real special!"

A quiet, involuntary grunt slipped out through my teeth as he patted me on the head, and continued to patronize me. "You see; Gluskin has been dying for a new bride, and that's where you come in, Bitch! You're going to make that man happy, and much easier for us to deal with, aren't you?"

My anger dissolved as he finished his taunting sentence, and it was quickly replaced by a frightening sense of curiosity for this 'Gluskin' guy. Who was this 'Gluskin' guy? I swore I'd heard his name before, but couldn't recall at that moment. Whatever I may have heard, I was sure that it wasn't good.

And now these guys were giving me to him like a big, juicy piece of meat being tossed to a hungry, drooling dog. These guys couldn't have been allowed to do this-or were they? Who would've even cared in this place anyway?

"Wh…who's Gluskin?" I asked as my voice shifted into a shaky, innocent tone. They didn't answer. Only gave me a dark chuckle after sensing my growing anxiety in the form of stuttering. I couldn't hide it at that point, and I couldn't stop thinking about what was to become a bad memory of being raped by some psychopathic predator.

 _Oh, Pamela! What have you done? What did you get yourself into this time, Chica?_ All at the cost of having to know what kind of shadiness was really going on here. I wondered what had happened to John and Vera, and whether or not they made it.

They better had, because then all of this sleazy, horseshit that was about to happen to me might actually have been worth it. Thinking of that possibility might have given me the motivation-the courage to fight through this. Hell, I've managed to fight off every other perverted motherfucker that had ever advanced on me in this place!

My brief empowering moment of thinking was interrupted by a soft, melodic humming from a gentle, male voice echoing down the hall. It sounded gentler than any other voice that I've heard in this God-forsaken asylum, and it got louder as we reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Almost there, Baby!" The guard mocked with a laugh.

The humming turned into singing as I lifted my heavy head up to look at the dark hallway. It was barley brightened by moonlight shining in through a dusty, bay window built into the wall.

I heard the words _When I was a boy, my mother said to me 'get married son and see how happy you will be'_. It was a song that I'd never heard before, but it sounded like one of those old-timely melodies from the forty's or fifty's.

The voice sounded sweat, but malicious. Almost like the voice of a siren luring a sailor to their ultimate death. And in this case, I was about to be raped by a siren-like, singing psychopath.

They took me down the hall and around a corner on the right. We stopped at a door as one of the guards let go of my arm, and the other pulled me in front of him to restrain my arms from behind. I could feel his utility belt pressed up against the bottom of my spine. The guard that wasn't holding me turned away, and casually walked up to the door.

I wanted to run away; to kick the guard behind me in the balls and make a run for it, but I couldn't find it in me to do just that. Grogginess in my brain from the previous blow to my head might've had something to do with it.

The singing stopped at the sound of a knock on the door. "Hey, Eddie! You there?" There was no reply from anyone inside, yet the guard still took it upon himself to open the door. "We're coming in now!" He announced. He took hold of my arm once again, and helped the other guard haul me through.

The grogginess mixed with anxiety of what was about to happen only allowed me to notice the moonlight shining in through a large window built into the wall next to a bed. Any other details about this room were an insignificant blur.

"Hey, Eddie! We got a treat for you!" One of the guards playfully said. They dropped me facedown on an old, dusty, twin-sized mattress. My forehead smacked against the headboard. I grunted deeply in disapproval, but the guards didn't care of course.

The pressure from the impact spread around the front of my skull, and went throughout the sides and back of my brain. I didn't bother to lift my head up to look around, but I could feel one of the guards standing over me, victorious laughing at my misfortune. Finally, I heard both of them making their way towards the door. "Enjoy your new bride!" The last one said as he closed the door, and left.

The room went quiet after the clicking of the door, and the sound of regressing footsteps fading down the hallway. I still couldn't bring myself to lift my head up to look around for the man that was ABOUT TO FUCKING RAPE ME!

My heart began to pound as my breath increased into soft, hyperventilating huffs. I wasn't ready for this, but of course whoever is? The difference was that when this happens to other people, it's a surprise, but me? I knew it was coming.

"Oh, Darling!" That sweat voice singing before exclaimed, breaking the silence, "Did they hurt you?" _What?_ I silently asked myself with my head still buried in the mattress. This perverted psychopath-with a strong, honeyed voice I might add, and who was supposed to rape me-was actually concerned about me?

The confusion and fear was making my stomach flutter. _Should I even be scared_? I thought. "Who's there?" I asked with a croaky tone from an un-cleared throat. "Don't worry, Darling! They can't hurt you anymore. You're safe with me."

I bravely lifted my head up, and turned my gaze over to the corner from where that low, soft voice came. There was a tall, muscular man standing next to a silhouette of a desk. He started to walk over towards me, finally stepping into the moonlight that came in through the window. The faint light allowed me to see his face.

This 'Gluskin' guy was quite handsome, with beige skin and features so sharp and symmetrical. He wore a white shirt, black pants, and a grey vest. His black hair was neatly combed down into an undercut, accentuating the curvature of his high cheekbones. I suppose you could say that he was dressed like a groom who was about to be married.

Well, this was Eddie Gluskin. Eddie is what the guards called him I thought, but he looked nothing like these other sick motherfuckers that I've come across here at Mount Massive Asylum. Nonetheless, there was still something off about him. I just couldn't point it out at that moment.

I struggled to lift my torso, and turn my hip to the side while propping my weight unto my hands. As I watched with emotions of fear and uncertainty, Gluskin continued to walk over to the bed.

He was strangely fixated on me, showing eagerness that seemed hard for him to contain. A smile was pointed across his animated face, resembling a pirate who finally found a treasure chest that he longed searched for.

"My, Darling! You're beautiful, and together…we will be beautiful!"

Gluskin lifted his big, strong hand, and brushed the side of my cheek with his index finger. His touch felt so warm and gentle as he ran his fingers through my greasy, blonde locks. He didn't seem to mind my unkempt appearance, which I found surprising since I hadn't showered in a few days.

"What do you mean?" I nervously asked. The uncertainty was killing me! I couldn't tell whether or not this man was going to hurt me-or even rape me. He just seemed so gentle, and spoke so passionately.

There was however, an essence of a slight, erratic instability in his demeanor. As if he could snap at any moment from something little that might offend him. Therefore, I tried to choose my words carefully.

Gluskin brushed a strand of my curls behind my ear. "You don't have to be alone in this place anymore. We have each other now. To have and to hold forever. Isn't that comforting, Darling?"

 _Holy Shit!_ I thought. We had just met for the first time under very bad circumstances, and this guy was already talking like we were a couple. Almost as if we were somehow betrothed or something!

"Um, yeah sure. But you don't even know me!" I said as carefully as I could. "I know all that I need to know. You see, Darling? This place was a sin, but now? After receiving you? It's a blessing!" He softly beamed as he closed his eyes in euphoria.

'Receiving me' he said! Those were the words that he chose. Like I was some gift granted to him by the guards. The possibility flashed in my mind like a bright-red, flickering light bulb going off that I didn't have a choice in this.

"Look, I don't want to burst your bubble or anything," I said, immediately regretting my choice of words, "but this is a little soon, don't you think? I mean…I may not be what you…" He interrupted me as he firmly gripped my arms, and placed an index finger to my lips.

"What I _want_ , darling, is a family. Children that I can call my own, and a sweet little girl to bring them into the world." He said as he tightened his grip on my arms and lightly shook me, "See, Darling? You've been delivered as a gift to me, one for me to unwrap and savor over and over again. A pure woman as beautiful as you is the one I want. And I will have you darling. All to myself."

At that moment, my previous suspicions were confirmed. The way he held me-so firm and passionate-scared the shit out of me. Not only was he going to make me his, but he expected me to bear his children? What if I didn't want children? I never really wanted to be tied down to anyone, much less have kids with him.

Just dealing with the thought of being raped was more than enough to handle, but this guy said that I had to bear his children! I wasn't okay with that, and I wanted to tell him no. But what would happen if I did?

I became even more afraid of his passionate demeanor. It was so intense and overpowering in ways that I couldn't describe. On a sudden, spooked impulse, I backed away. Thankfully, his grip loosened, and I pressed my spine against the cold wall.

"Don't shriek from me!" He playfully exclaimed.

Nervous and uneasy, I was no longer able to choose my words carefully. "I'm sorry, don't think that will work for me!" I anxiously replied without thinking, "I have to go!"

I awkwardly maneuvered myself off of the bed, brushing past his retreating arms, and hoping that he wouldn't grab me. That euphoric smile shifted into a straight, astonished expression. Once I was off the bed, I tripped over my own feet and landed on my side. It had been at least an hour since I walked after being struck with a baton.

I could feel his eyes on me as I clumsily regained my footing, and hurried over to the door. To my despair it was locked. My heart sank as I looked through the square, glass opening, seeing that no one was out there to open the door.

"There's nowhere for you to go, Darling. You're here with me now." Gluskin hopelessly declared. I turned around with my back pressed to the door, fearful for what was about to happen. He walked over towards me, and the realization that I was stuck in here with this guy quickly sank in.

Out of desperation, I tried to reason with him, for what good it might have done. "I'm sorry I…I can't do this! I'm not what you think, and I…don't want children!" Gluskin stopped two feet from me and paused. His expression turned indifferent and scrutinizing, which made the butterflies in my stomach flutter like crazy.

"I thought you were different from the others, Darling. I saw it in your eyes, but maybe…maybe you're just another whore!" He said as his sweet tone turned malicious and cold.

The gentleness in his voice was completely gone. Despite the uncertainty I had of his demeanor before, his tone still took me by surprise. "Whoa, wait a minute, now!" I exclaimed as I raised my hands in front of him, "Look, its fine with me if you want to just fool around, but…!"

Before I knew it, he lifted his right hand and gave me a swift, iron-like punch to the nose. I hit the ground so fast as the back of my head smacked against the door. Wincing from the pain that continued to intensify, I could feel his angry, heaving breath on my head as he stepped closer and bent over me.

"So you are a whore after all!" He growled with a tone that turned stern and harsh. The strength and rage in his voice was frighteningly powerful. Gluskin reached down, wrapped his thick fingers around my neck, and pulled me up to my feet. He squeezed so hard that I kept choking on my saliva with every breath I tried to take.

"All of you sluts are the same! Batting your eyes and luring me in with your sweet words, and then you stab me in the back! Well, Darling, it looks like we'll have to end this once and for all!"

His voice lowered into a more calm and hopeless tone as he pulled out a nine-inch piece of wood that had been carved at the end. It was probably sharp and pointy enough to go right through my neck. Gluskin took the piece of wood and held it up to my face. "O…oh God, no! No please!" I cried as my eyes filled with tears.

"Love isn't for everybody, Darling. And it certainly isn't for you!" He coolly lectured in an ominous tone. Gluskin continued to stare into my wet eyes. The disappointment in his eyes was clear as his animated face turn cold and disconnected.

This man was about to kill me, and I couldn't let that happen. I didn't want to die, so I had to think of something fast. "Wait! Wait! Look, I'll do whatever you want, Baby! I'll be whatever you want! You want a wife? You got one! You want a child? You can have one, and I'll give it to you!" I passionately begged.

Gluskin loosened his grip on my neck as I stepped closer, and put a trembling hand on his soft, chiseled cheek. He stared deeply into my eyes as I begged him to reconsider taking my life. His face seemed to lighten into an expression that was more forgiving.

"Children, Darling!" He graciously corrected, gently placing his hand on mine, "Not just a child." I frantically nodded my head in agreement, relieved to see his cold face softening from my persuasion. "Yes, of course! I'll take good care of you, Baby. And I'll be yours forever and ever."

Suddenly, Gluskin took me in his arms and held me so tight. I wanted to wiggle my way out of his grip, but I couldn't. He was far too strong. With a hand on the back of my head, he pressed his warm, yet lips into mine.

Deeply intertwined with the curvature of each well-defined muscle, he lifted me up in his arms, and carried me over to the bed. His grip was so tight that my back cracked twice, and a slight cry escaped through my lips. Regardless, there was no reaction from him, keeping his tight grip around my torso as if to keep me from running away.

Then, he turned me around, placed me facedown on the bed, and mounted my hips. I could feel my pelvis sinking into the bed underneath his weight.

"The conception might be painful for you, Darling. But please try to endure for my sake, and for the sake of our first born." He tenderly lectured once more. He lifted the bottom of my shirt, and ran his hands along my waist.

I could feel his warm breath in my ear as he bent over and said, "Just close your eyes, Darling! And think of the life that we're going to have together." Oh God, I didn't want to imagine what kind of life we were going to have together! Not with this unstable psychopath that was on top of me.

 _Just get through this! It will be over soon! It will be over soon!_ I kept saying to myself over and over. So then I closed my eyes, wincing in dread as he kissed my neck, and ran his hands over my trembling torso.


	4. Meet the Mad Doctor

**Jeremy Blaire and Richard Trager are property of Red Barrel, but I do own Vera Nagy, the guards, and the random pervert. Enjoy!**

Chapter 4

With wet, heavy pant legs, I plunged through the murky waters of a small stream. My gag-reflexes were enraged from the smell of raw sewage filling my nostrils, and traveling down my trachea. Somehow-I didn't quite know how, but somehow I ended up in a sewer.

I wondered if any of these circular, brown tunnels led to a way out of this asylum, but after a while, I realized that they were only taking me around in circles. Each of them built so that they headed back into each other.

There were so many dead ends in the form of bars built over every, little tunnel. They might have lead somewhere, but whoever built this place made sure that no one could get out. Of course it couldn't have been that easy! To find a tunnel that provided a quick and easy way out of this hellhole. Nothing in this place was that easy.

Besides, I couldn't leave John and Pammy alone in this place to suffer through experiments while I was freely prancing about. That would have been quite shitty of me, wouldn't it? Well, it would've been nice to get out of this place, but I couldn't in good conscious enjoy it after leaving my friends-the very friends that sacrificed themselves for me here to rot.

After wondering through this dead-end sewer, I came upon an old, rusty set of brick stairs leading up into a dark, steep tunnel. It was shaped like a garden arbor with no lights to brighten up the dark path where the stairs led. A metal, rusted sign with the words MALE WARD was nailed into the side on the brick wall.

As much as I didn't want to go back up there, there really was no other place to go, so I took hold of the rail and slowly ascended up the stairs. Although the possibility of being caught by the guards was apparent, I was at least relieved to get away from that awful stench of sewage.

 _But what if I did get caught? Were the guards still looking for me?_ I wondered to myself. Perhaps I could find my way back to the female ward, and back to my room without the guards knowing it. If they wanted to seek me out, I'd just play out the crazy, confused patient, right? It was a long shot, but it was the only one I had at that point.

Running my hands against the wall, I plunged into the darkness. The walls curved around, and I tripped as I blindly lifted each foot to feel for a step. Once I finally reached around the curve, I saw light illuminating the top steps.

Seeing that there was no one there, I ran up the steps and stopped at the corner. I hovered over the entrance with my fingers wrapped around the cold, brick ledge. Tilting my head over the ledge so that my one eye was visible, I made sure the coast was clear. Luckily it was, therefore I stepped around the corner and headed down the hall.

The walls were made of solid, rusty bricks, and the ground felt cold and dirty underneath my sore, bare feet. I spotted a door ahead with a frame made of frail, rotting wood, and a large window built into the top half. A bald patient with scars covering his face stood on the other side of it. He wore a tattered, brown patient-issued scrub top over his bony torso.

His face was so scared that his lower lip hung down below his teeth. He spotted me as I stopped in the middle of corridor. Then he stuck his tongue out, and held it in-between two of his fingers. With his wide, ferocious eyes dead-set on me, he flicked his tongue up and down in a manner so grotesque that his sagging, lower lip flapped underneath it. Sadly, sexual gestures like this one were common in this place from sick, motherfuckers like him.

Giving him a grimacing stare, I raised my middle finger high in the air for him to see. Nevertheless, I was only egging him on, which was plainly spelled out as he nodded his head to say, _Yeah, Baby! Fuck you too!_ I shook my head as I fought the urge to bust through that door, and gift him with a knuckle sandwich.

But no, I just looked away and walked down the hall, trying so hard to ignore him as he continued to look at me and flick his tongue up and down. As I went around a corner, I heard a loud, abrupt knock on the door ahead of me. There was no window built into this one, consequently I couldn't see who was on the other side of it.

The knock turned into a constant pounding, causing the weak, decaying door to loosen from its hinges with every strike against it. A burst of adrenaline and fear raced through my limbs, and I frantically looked around for a way out of the corridor.

The pounding continued as I scurried back the way I came, passing the pervert behind the door. He was still flicking his tongue, but that time he nodded saying, _Yeah, he's coming for you, Baby!_

As I pivoted my body around the corner, I spotted an open vent on the bottom of the wall with the covering placed next to it. The pounding wouldn't stop, so I got down on my knees and entered the vent.

I turned around and reached for the cover. It was so heavy that I struggled for a few seconds until I finally got it to budge, and then dragged it over the opening. When the pounding stopped, and when the person on the other side of that door got through it, I made damn-well sure that they wouldn't be able to see where I went.

It was a short crawl through this thing, but the air still felt thick and moldy. A revolting smell came in through the opening-one that was strong and putrid like rotting flesh. "God, are there dead people in this room?" I asked myself in disgust.

I peeked my head through the opening, first seeing a distant wall with curtains covering something that wasn't visible beyond the white fabric. There were heavy, gasping breaths coming from inside.

After crawling through, I stood up next to the nearest curtain and looked for a crease. Given the smell, I didn't expect to find anything good, but I came this far, right? Thought I might as well see what's inside, therefore I went ahead and peeled back the curtain.

So this was where that putrid smell was coming from? My God, I couldn't believe what I saw! A body of a man mutilated beyond recognition, and sprawled across a metal cart. His abdominal cavity was completely cleared of any organs, and his face was cut away.

Needless to say, someone did this to him! Just tore him apart and left him to die on a cold, metal cart. I backed out of there as the dizziness rushed into my brain. The room was spinning as I heard the gasping breaths still sounding off.

Queasy and delirious, I stumbled around the curtains until I saw two rows of beds along each elongated wall. Some of them had patients tightly strapped to them. They were carved up with stitches running across their bodies. And yes, they were alive, looking up at me with blank, transparent stares.

I bumped into a cart with a small folder lying on top of it. Without thinking, I lifted the top part and let it fall against the metal ledge, revealing a single document inside.

It read:

Patient Status Report:

By: Rick Trager

Here I am, working on my first round of patients. Things don't look good for this one, but I'll do what I can, being a new doctor and all. But hey, at least I get to learn something new about Biology, right? And besides, I'm no quitter.

Well, we finally declared PROJECT WALRIDER a go. Everything looks good so far, and we're bound to make a healthy profit here. Jer's been suggesting that we soon expand to female patients, and I don't think that's a bad idea. We'll have to see how things go first, but I for one knew it was a good idea to put in that request to bring female patients to Mount Massive, didn't I?

Anyhoo-this patient needs a liver transplant, so I'd better get to it.

So this was for profit after all, and these assholes were experimenting on us just to get rich! It only goes to show that no one here is in the business of treating us patients. Nobody here wants to help us cope with our illnesses. They want one thing and one thing only-money in their pockets all at our expense!

Pammy thought us women were in the clear, but then I knew for a fact that she was wrong. The reason this place even had female patients was to experiment on us. Pammy could've been next! Hell, I could've been next!

And not only were they hooking men up to those machines in the basement, but someone-some doctor probably fresh out of med school was doing his own experiments on these patients. This 'Trager' guy obviously didn't know what he was doing, and they allowed him to do this!

Oh God, I thought this place was bad before, but at that point I couldn't unsee what I just saw! _But wait!_ I thought to myself. The other patients there were still alive. With a new sense of purpose, I dashed over to the nearest patient, and knelt down next to his bed. He looked up at me with glazed eyes giving a blank, transparent stare, and grunting a few words that I couldn't make out.

"Shh, Shh! Hold on, I'll get you out of here!"

I tugged on the ties that were firmly bound around his wrist. They wouldn't budge. This 'Trager' guy obviously knew what he was doing there, making sure that these patients couldn't leave at any cost. The ties were elastic, stretching down to the bottom of the legs of the bed, so I tried to lift the bed up by the first leg, but it was too heavy. It wouldn't raise an inch!

With high caution, I kept looking around to make sure no one was coming-none of the guards or Trager for that matter. As I looked back at the patient, I noticed large, wounds shaped like a row of tiny, distorted balloons. There were stitched so tightly, running along his stomach and legs.

Even if I could free this guy, it would've been pointless. He couldn't even walk with large wounds like that. With a sigh of despair, I looked into the man's blank eyes as he continued to mutter words I couldn't understand.

"THERE YOU ARE!" I heard a male voice shout from across the room. In a panic I looked over to find the same, two guards that tackled John in the lab. The anger across their snarling faces was as plain as day, therefore I wasn't going to wait another second.

Jumping over the bed, I threw myself through the door and tripped over my feet as I landed in the hallway. A flight of stair behind a door made of metal bars was perfectly visible at the end. I clumsily rose to my feet and took off towards the door.

The keycard rubbed against one of my breast inside of my shirt. I quickly pulled it out, hoping that it would unlock the door. As I approached it, I saw that there was no card reader on the side, however I felt something metal hanging behind that card that I haven't noticed before. An actually metal key was hanging off of the wire.

With trembling hands, I grabbed the key and shoved it into the hole beneath the doorknob. It was a perfect fit, and the key turned with ease allowing me to open the door and go through. As I closed the door, I saw the guards rushing out of the room.

They looked around until they spotted me on the stairs, and started running down the hall in my direction. I locked the door in hopes to slow them down and ran up the stairs, skipping every other step for the sake of going faster.

"You can't get away from us, Bitch!" One of them called after me.

" _Want to bet?"_

Challenging them probably wasn't a good idea, but I was determined to avoid capture, whether or not it was truly avoidable at that moment. I finally reached the top and pushed through a door, which provided a clear view of a lobby.

Another door leading to an office was in plain sight. The windows were fogged over, and I couldn't tell if there was anyone inside. Even though I had no idea where they lead to, there seemed to be no other route to choose from. So then, I set my sights upon that door.

I pushed through the door in front of me, slammed it closed, and locked it behind me. Footsteps from down the stairs got louder, telling me that the guards were not too far behind. Their perseverance was matched by angry shouts of profanities, which sent tremors through my stomach.

"There's nowhere to hide, you slippery little Whore!"

I dashed away from the staircase and headed over to the office. Without thinking, I slammed the door open and stumbled my way inside. Two unsuspecting men were standing next to a desk holding a stack of papers. In unison, they both looked over at me.

One of them had short, black hair that was combed backwards, wearing a black suit and tie. A cold, astonished expression was painted across his smooth, fair face as if to say _What are you doing here?_ The other man however, seemed to be delighted at my unexpected arrival. "Well hello there, Honey!" He greeted, dropping his stack of papers on the desk.

He was a tall, older man with grey hair hanging down the sides and back of his head, reaching all the way down to his collarbone. There was no hair on the top of his head, only a thin, grey line circling the sides of his scalp. His face was pale, square-shaped and narrow with a pair of brown, circular prescription glasses resting across the bridge of his pointy nose.

He wore a white, lab coat and brown, cache pants. For an older man, he looked to be in very good shape, showing a lean, slender body. The muscles in his arms were well defined underneath the white fabric of his coat.

I didn't know what to do at that moment, and I was sure that the guards weren't far behind me. _Could this be some kind of trap_? I thought. Exhausted and terrified, I fell to my hands and knees. My breath increased to speeds that my small, tired lungs couldn't keep up with. "Whoa! Whoa okay!" The balding man playfully exclaimed as he rushed to my aid, "Let's take it easy, Honey!"

Gently and urgently he grabbed my arms, and led me over to a nearby chair. I could only see his brown pants and the bottom of his coat as his large, bony fingers circled my upper arms and lifted me up. Next, he grabbed another chair and pulled it right in front of me. He sat down so close with my legs positioned in between his.

"Over here, alright? Deep breaths, Honey! We're here for you."

The balding man spoke with a low voice that one could easily distinguish from another. His tone was friendly and upbeat with a laid back, humorous demeanor that still expressed much sophistication. He was very accommodating and intimate, showing a natural tendency to initiate physical contact that was completely unrestrained.

Most people would feel uncomfortable to be handled in such a way by this guy, but it didn't bother me one bit. He actually showed concern for my wellbeing, seeing that I was having a severe panic attack at that moment.

Could he have been one of those high-ranking officials that were conducting those experiments in the lab? He had to have been. So if he was, why did he show concern that was so sincere? Nobody else in this place even showed the same kind of empathy-well except for Dave of course.

I kept hyperventilating to the point where I could no longer control the speed of each breath passing through my airways. It was embarrassing of course, but the balding man didn't judge me at all. He just continued to handle me in such an endearing way, placing his hands on my shoulders and trying to sooth my heavy breathing.

"Just relax! Breathe in and out, okay? Why don't you tell us what's going on?"

Out of the blue, his eyes trailed down towards my chest, giving an unexpected, lighthearted chuckle. "Wha…where'd you get this?" He asked, reaching towards my shirt and pulling out the keycard, which slightly stuck out from within my bra.

Out of some humorous sense of amazement, he looked down at it for a second and then back at me. Still laughing and shaking his head, he turned his torso to the side, and placed the keycard on a nearby desk. "Well then, we'll just have to keep an eye on you, won't we?"

I tried to talk through each heavy breath, but it was too difficult. "Alright, hold on, Honey! Just keep breathing!" He said as he placed his hands on my shoulders once again. In an instant, the door slammed against the wall. I couldn't bring myself to look back, but I knew exactly who it was. My breathing was about to increase again, knowing that the guards had finally made it there.

"THERE SHE IS! THIS BITCH HAS BEEN RUNNING AROUND HERE ALL DAY!" I heard one of them roar through their grinding teeth.

The balding man shifted his gaze from my eyes to look at the men coming up behind me. He took a hand off of my shoulder, and held it out in front of the guards to stop them from advancing. "Whoa, hold up there, Buddies!" He demanded.

I heard them furiously stopping in their hasty tracks. This man must have been some symbol of high authority to be able to stop the enraged guards from coming up on me like that. Before I would've thought that telling this man what I saw downstairs might not have been a good idea in front of these guards. But now that I saw what kind of authority he had, I took comfort knowing that I was safe from them at that moment.

"Somebody's…somebody's downstairs…cutting up patients! I saw dead men down there! They were mutilated, and…some of them are still…alive!"

The balding man took a moment to look at into my wet, teary eyes. Concern and bewilderment was shown across his narrow face from the things I was trying to say. "Someone's…cutting people up?" The man in the black suit challenged with a disdainful grimace across his face. "Look, I saw it myself, okay? Please, you have to believe me! Someone's fucking killing them!" I frantically begged as tears rolled down my face.

"You didn't see anything!" The man in the black suit irritatingly remarked, "It's all in your head, you're just upset!" It was obvious that this cold, less friendly man wasn't nearly as concerned, but the balding man continued to watch me with a worried, scrutinizing look on his face.

"But I swear, I saw it! Why can't you believe me?" I cried desperately.

His grip on my arms tightened as he consoled me once again. "Shh, Shh, Shh! Take it easy! You look exhausted, why don't we get you back to your room so you can rest?" He merrily suggested. The balding man looked up towards the guards behind me. With a beckoning gesture from his large, boney hand, he motioned for one of them to come over.

My nerves were ignited from a severe jolt of panic as I looked back, and saw the guards coming towards me. Although they were under the command of the balding man, I could still see the savage fury gleaming in their creasing eyes.

I didn't want to go with them. For all I knew, they were probably helping the mad doctor from downstairs cover up those savage killings, considering they weren't the least bit surprised when they came into the room with those mutilated patients.

"No! No!" I raved as I tried to stand up and get away from the guards. The balding man grabbed my arms, and held me down on the chair. "I don't want to go with them! Don't let them touch me! Keep them away…!"

He firmly held my arms to the side with strength that was greater than mine, before holding out a hand to stop the guards again. "Shh, shh, okay, okay! I'll make sure you don't go with them." He lightly reassured, as he looked back at the man in the black suit, "Hey, Jer-Buddy, can we get someone to…?"

"We can get an orderly to take her back." The man in the black suit neutrally stated. "Oh, there we go! Does that sound good to you, Honey?" He asked as he leaned over and looked into my eyes with a carefree smile across his thin lips. Tears continued to roll down my eyes as I nodded in approval. "Would one of you radio for an orderly, please?" The man in the black suit asked.

"Hey, this is Carl! We need an orderly at the upper levels of the male ward to escort a female patient back to her room."

Even though the possibility that these men were involved in conducting these brutal experiments was obvious, I couldn't help but find the balding man's attitude comforting. Especially when he called me _Honey._ The way he used it-so friendly and comical-didn't bother me at all. He also called every guy in this room Buddy, which showed that he just simply did that with everyone.

"See, you're just upset and you're in much need of rest." The balding man rationalized, "Everything will be okay, you'll see! How about a glass of water before you go?" I nodded once again in response to the lively, amusing smile across his face. Then he looked up towards the guards asking, "Hey, Buddies, can we get a glass of water for her?"

There was a brief pause before one of the guards answered almost resentfully with, "Sure thing, Mr. Trager!" _Trager?_ I thought to myself as I heard footsteps leaving the room. Why did that name sound familiar? I knew I'd just heard it very recently. _Oh wait!_ The voice in my head raved, _It's him!_ He's the doctor! The surgeon operating on those patients downstairs! It was actually him! This warm, friendly man was the one carving up those patients. He was also the one who helped run the experiments. The one who wanted to bring female patients to Mount Massive just to experiment on. I couldn't believe that I was actually staring into the face of the mad doctor who tore his patients apart!

"Trager!" I automatically found myself gravely mumbling out loud. Suddenly, the balding man snapped his gaze over towards me with a humorous smirk across his lips. "Uh, yeah that's me, Honey!" He answered with a chuckle. The door opened, and Trager pointed his finger behind me to stop whoever came in.

"Wait there, Buddy!"

He shifted his smirking gaze back towards me as I found myself involuntarily muttering something that I clearly shouldn't have. "It's you! You…you're the one who's…!"

"The one who's what?" He boldly interrupted with that smirk still across his lips. Trager's brown eyes penetrated mine as he titled his head to further match my gaze. His narrow cheeks softened as his face gradually began to straighten from that snarky smile.

My body began to quiver as the words came out of my mouth. The look on his face further reinstated that there was no going back. "The one who's cutting up patients downstairs! It's you who's doing it! It's you…it's you…!"

At that instant, Trager's lips perched into a heavy sigh of disappointment, his slender chest rising with the breath that came out through his nose. Now I'd done it! If I hadn't gotten myself into enough trouble before, I'd certainly had then. _Great, Vera! You're in trouble now!_

Then, Trager shifted his hopeless stare from me to someone behind me, and lifted his hand to motion for him to come over. I heard loud, quick footsteps coming closer to my chair. The building anxiety skyrocketed to higher levels, causing my breathing to increase once again as I shifted my posture to look behind me.

Before I could see who was coming, Trager grabbed me and lifted me out of my chair. "Hate to have to do this to you, Honey!" He stated in a despairing, malicious tone. He held me so tight against his chest. I tried to push myself away, but he was way too strong.

Another strong hand grabbed my shoulder from behind, and I felt a large, sharp needle going into my shoulder blade. I yelped from the stinging pinch that seared into my back muscle, and then instantly collapsed.

Trager caught me, keeping me from hitting the ground by grabbing my wrists. He gently set me down on my back next to the chair with my waist in-between his legs. My vision quickly blurred out with the sight of an orderly standing by my head, and Trager straightening his back up to tower over my limp body.

 **Hope you liked this one, because that was the chapter that I'd been dying to write! The one that introduces Rick Trager-my favorite viliian in the game! More to come soon, and please leave a review telling me what you think.**


	5. The Last Straw

**Ray, the guards (Carl and Mike), Pamela, and Vera are the only characters that I take ownership for in this chapter. Trager, Blaire, Mount Massive Asylum, and Annapurna are property of Red Barrel. Happy reading everybody!**

Chapter 5: The Last Straw

I raced up the stairs of the male ward, trying to answer a call made by a guard on the upper levels. They said that they needed an orderly to escort a female patient, and I immediately wondered if it was Pamela or Vera.

Those two never came back to the female ward after lunch like they were supposed to, so I spent hours looking for them. There was also no sign of John since our conversation in the cafeteria. Somehow I knew that those three would get into trouble, and this really wasn't the place to get in any kind of trouble.

They all suspected that something was going down-some big secret happening to the patients, and they all seemed so determined to find out what. When I found out they weren't where they were supposed to be, I had a hunch that they might have been sneaking around.

Obviously they didn't listen to me when I told them to keep their heads down. They really didn't know who they were dealing with. Who Murkoff really was and what they were capable of. And unfortunately the truth was they were right.

Murkoff really was conducting numerous experiments on the patients, and I didn't have the heart to tell them that. This place alone takes a lot out of the patients, and the last thing they needed to worry about was something as drastic and horrifying as that.

Was it still wrong you ask? Fuck yeah it was, and I didn't like it any better than them. Nonetheless I did sign an agreement when I was hired here. That we couldn't disclose anything that goes on here to the public, however I didn't know that the experiments were that extreme!

Furthermore, something else was going on that a lot of us orderlies didn't even know about. I kept seeing patients disappearing. One day they'll be sent down to the lower levels of the male ward, and then I'd never see them again!

Whenever I asked any other orderlies, my boss, or anyone else, they either one-didn't know, or two-didn't give a shit! The more I saw this shit, the more I wanted to quit. I really didn't know how long I could keep quiet about all of this, and I wanted them to send me someplace else for fuck's sake! That way I didn't have to see the shit that went on there.

And the most infuriating thing was that I had been writing human resources for two months asking them to reassign me, and after two months I never got an answer! Part of me wanted to stay, to help these patients because nobody else in this God-forsaken asylum gave a damn about them.

But I knew very well that there really was nothing I can do to help them. I had spent countless hours draining myself, trying to protect them from the horrors that went on in this place, and in the end it all went for nothing. No longer could I live with that, so I just pleaded and pleaded for them to send me away.

I tried to repress those waves of thoughts as I reached the top of the stairs. There were two guards standing in front of the door leading into a small office. Carl and Mike were their names. Both of them were assholes if you ask me, but they were only two of many assholes in that asylum.

The windows were dim and blurred with only a small light that barely brighten up the bottom portions of the glass; therefore I couldn't see who was inside. Pulling out my set of keys, I opened the door in front of me, and walked over towards the guards. Their eyes settled on me as I approached with Mike holding a hand out to stop me.

"What do you want, Annapurna?"

"You called for an orderly didn't you, Carl?" I countered looking over at Carl who stood right beside him. "We got one already! We don't need you here!" Carl rudely remarked with cold eyes planted on me. "Who's in there?" I urged. "What's it to yah?" Mike asked with a smug look that I just wanted to slap right off of his face.

My blood began to boil so much that I swore I could've felt the moist heat of steam coming out of my ears. The nerve of those two-talking to me like I had no right to go in there! By then, I had more than had it with these motherfuckers, and I wasn't about to take this shit, turn around, and go on with the rest of my day.

"Look, a couple of patients have been missing since lunch and I need to know if that girl in there is one of them! I'm not leaving so you might as well just LET ME THE FUCK IN!" I nearly shouted as my teeth began to grind in fury.

All of a sudden, the door to the office opened and another orderly peeked his head through the crack. "What's going on?" He asked with a firm, alarmed tone. I recognized him right away as Ray. Nice enough guy, but didn't quite share my amount of compassion for the patients.

Mike looked back at him with a laugh and said, "Nothing! This guy was just getting a little pissy because we wouldn't let him in." With one quick look at me and then back at Mike, Ray shook his head with a grimace of disgust on his tired face.

"Just let him in!"

Mike looked back at me to meet my smug look, embarrassment painted on his face. I could tell that he was quite put off at the fact that Ray wouldn't go along with the horseshit that he was trying to pull. _Fucking right, Ass Wipe!_ I thought.

Fortunately, I didn't feel the need to say that out loud, but I made sure that he could clearly see that sentence within the expression on my face. I was sure that this ass wipe wanted to punch me at that point. Of course he wasn't going to do that in front of another orderly-who had just put him in this place-as well as whoever else might have been in that room.

But incase he decided to do that, I prepared myself by planting both feet firmly underneath me to duck out of the way if I needed to. Mike didn't do that, however. He just rolled his eyes, and gentle pushed the door open once Ray decided to go back in.

"Alright, come in!"

I didn't wait for him to completely move out of the way as I barged right through the door, roughly brushing against his shoulder. A harsh grunt of anger blew into my ear at the result of the abrupt contact of my shoulder with his, but I didn't care. The ass wipe deserved it!

After I came through the door, the first thing I noticed was Vera sprawled over the ground on her back. She was clearly unconscious with a balding man standing nonchalantly right next to her with his hands folded behind his back.

I instantly recognized him as the one of the top ranking Murkoff executives from research and development. Richard Trager was his name, and everyone around here called him 'Rick'. He stood there, casually conversing with dark-haired man in a black suit. Jeremy Blaire was his name, and Murkoff's President and CEO was his high and mighty title.

"Give me a hand will you, Dave?" Ray asked as he patted me on the shoulder. He passed me and walked over towards the lonesome wheelchair sitting in a corner. I caught up to him before he reached the chair, and discretely slipped my hand underneath his upper arm to get his attention.

"What happened here?" I whispered to him. "She just had a little freak-out, that's all." He said with a light shrug. Ray grabbed the chair and wheeled it over towards Vera and the two men standing next to her.

Blaire was leaning in towards Trager, appearing eager to offer up a suggestion that didn't sound good on Vera's behalf. "What do you think, Rick? We've been talking about expanding Project Walrider to female patients. She could be the first one!" He loudly whispered.

Trager crossed his arms, and brought his right hand up to his chin in deep thought. He listened to Blaire's suggestion while staring down at the unconscious patient laying by his feet. "Hmm…yeah perhaps, Buddy." He answered hardly in agreement.

I tried to remain oblivious to their conversation: To pretend that I didn't hear that by keeping my head down and proceeding to help Ray. Despite my efforts it was too hard for me to concentrate on the task at hand. Not after hearing that Vera might be their first female subject.

Before I was almost certain that these experiments wouldn't expand to female patients in the nearby future, but apparently I was wrong! And now Vera was possibly going to be the first one! I promised all three of them that everything would be okay, and at that moment my promise became empty. See what I meant about not being able to help the patients no matter what I do?

God damn this place! No one would've believed the amount of secrecy and corruption that went on there. I didn't believe it when I first saw it myself, but after six months at Mount Massive Asylum I wasn't really shocked anymore.

The frustration inside of me began to brew as Ray rolled the chair over towards Vera, seeing that the two executives were in the way. "Excuse me, Gentlemen. Just need to get her in the chair." He said casually yet politely. "Oh sure, Buddy!" Trager exclaimed in a friendly, laid back tone as he backed out of the way.

My brief trance ended when Ray motioned for me to come over and give him a hand. I rushed over to help, carefully brushing past Trager as I crouched down over Vera's feet. With my hands underneath both of her thick, heavy knees, we lifted her up.

Blaire and Trager stood there with looks of neutrality across their faces as they watched us both carefully positioned her limp body in the cold, leather seat of the wheelchair. "Come on, Rick! You can't tell me that she wouldn't be a perfect candidate! We just have to review her records and then…"

Wait! Review her records? Those motherfuckers weren't doctors! They couldn't do that! Come to think of it, these motherfuckers never even pretended to act on some hypocritical code of ethics. They just did whatever they wanted whenever they wanted, and it made me sick!

"Uh…I don't know, Jer! Sounds like a good plan, but here's the thing. She now knows something that these other patients don't. I might have something else in mind for her…if you know what I mean!"

Trager ended that sentence with a lighthearted; analyzing tone that all too quickly became dark and humorous. I didn't like that. It made me very uneasy in how his dark chuckle was met by Blaire's evil, secretive smile. What exactly did she find out? Were they talking about the experiments going on in the basement, or did she somehow uncover a secret that I didn't even know about?

I straightened my back and paused as Ray strapped her hands and feet into the restraints, and gently positioned her limp head over the top of the chair. He paid no attention to their conversation, and it was quite obvious that he didn't care to know if Vera was about to be the subject of whatever cruelty that these snobbish assholes might lay upon her.

It must have been a few seconds before I realized that I was frozen in a stare towards the two men that shared a soft laugh from Trager's last suggestion. Then, Blaire's eyes trailed behind the executive in front of him and over towards me. He saw me standing behind Trager, probably with a dumbfounded look plainly seen across my face.

The executive noticed Blaire's face straightening from that smile into a cold, anti-intrusive stare. He turned his head to look back with an impartial expression across his face, finding out that I was one that his colleague was fiercely glaring at.

"Something on your mind, Buddy?" Trager asked in an amicable, curious tone. He faced me completely with his folded hands hanging in front of his torso. Although the look on is face was warmer than Blaire's, it was still scrutinizing and instigating. It made me feel like I was all of a sudden placed on stage, and being stared at by a silent crowd of thousands.

"Um…no. I just wanted to…help take Vera back to her room." I answered with a tone that came out so meek as I pointed my shaky finger towards the wheelchair. I tried so hard to keep my composure, but my movements and tone were completely shaken of all confidence from Trager's deep, indifferent stare.

"…It's okay, Dave. We got it from here!" Ray said, noticing the still tension in the room. "Oh, there you go, Buddy!" Trager beamed with a playful shrug, "So why don't you go ahead and take a break, huh?"

As he crossed his arms, he shook his head and chuckled while I continued to stare dumbly at nothing. For some reason I just couldn't snap out of it, and I could feel the heat from my checks flushing into a bright, rosy red color.

In all honesty, I couldn't tell if his suggestion was truly genuine or if he was throwing a joke at my expense. This guy was so friendly and upbeat, but there seemed to be more to him than that. Something was completely off about him, I just couldn't figure out what at that moment.

I found myself staring for a few more seconds, uneasily cringing from not really knowing what to do while this man kept laughing at me. Was he laughing with me, or at me? I really couldn't tell!

My head turned back and forward between the staring officials and Ray and the guards wheeling Vera out through the door. Blaire rolled his eyes and shook his head in disgust as the two men began to walk past me.

"Well, I don't know about you, Buddy. But…we're certainly done here!" Trager chided, giving me two strong pats on my shoulder as he passed by. He was still chuckling in amusement at my awkward demeanor in which I couldn't shake. _Dick!_ I thought.

I decided to stay in the room as they walked out the door. The volume in their voices slightly faded, yet were still audible, as they seemed to approach the elevator. I wasn't going to leave just yet. Not while those assholes-one of which was laughing at me earlier while the other gave me the stink eye-were still standing in the hall. Consequently I decided to wait until they got on the elevator and left.

"Fucking, weird, little, sentimental shit that Annapurna is!" Blaire muttered with a sigh, apparently not caring as to whether or not I could hear that.

"Who?"

"Annapurna."

"As in David Annapurna? THAT'S WHO THAT LITTLE SHIT IS?" Trager exclaimed in a sudden, harsh tone. "Yeah, why?" Blaire asked. "Pff…that fucker's been writing HR for two months saying he wants to be reassigned. Says he doesn't like it here!" The executive explained with that last sentence in a mocking tone.

Fucking asshole that guy was! I couldn't help but madly wonder why he didn't just answer me instead of ignoring me! And now he was mocking me! What trouble would it has been to just send me away? Didn't make any fucking sense!

"Yeah, well the guards tell me that he…doesn't seem to be on board what he do here!" Blaire stated. "Goddamn quitter is what he is! Can't stand them, Buddy!" Trager ranted, seemly very annoyed when saying the word 'quitter'.

 _Oh so now I'm a Goddamn quitter!_ I thought to myself. Never mind all of this corruption and injustice that went on in this place, and that I no longer wanted to be apart of it! Never mind that I was the only employee there with a conscious, but no-I was a Goddamn quitter! How unforgivable was I?

"What about Vera Nagy? The guards said she snuck in the lab with another patient." The CEO recalled.

"Who else was with her?"

"John…Hawkins? I believe that's what they said his name was. They got him in solitary right now."

There was barely a second long pause as I heard the deep, mechanical noise of the arriving elevator echoing against the wall. "…Well, I suggest we strictly keep them away from each other for the rest of the time that they're here." Trager seriously stated with a sigh, "Why don't you deal with him, Buddy? I'll take care of her."

"Hmm…yep! Sounds good to me!" Blaire beamed in approval.

My anxiety skyrocketed to extreme levels when I heard that last statement come out through the executive's lips right before they got on the elevator. I cracked open the door and peeked into the lobby, making absolutely sure they were gone.

The coast was clear, so I bolted out of the office and ran down the steps. Those men-those powerful, high-ranking Murkoff officials-were about to do something bad to John and Vera. I just didn't know what. Although deep down inside I knew that I couldn't stop anything from happening, I had to be sure that Vera was safe. Well…at least at that moment anyway.

With sweat dripping down my brow, I reached the bottom of the steps and entered the hallway leading to the female ward. I desperately hoped that she was back in her room, and not in some secret area of the Asylum where I wasn't authorized to venture.

There were so many places where I wasn't allowed to go, more specifically the basement of the male ward. Every time I tried to go down there, a guard turned me back around saying that it's restricted access.

But how come every time a patient gets sent down there, they don't come back up? I couldn't stand all of this secrecy-this shadiness, and I didn't want to be apart of it anymore. At that moment, I had half the mind to go and share my observations about Mount Massive Asylum with the press. Was it a good idea you ask? Absolutely not! My bold fury however, didn't allow me to fully reflect on the consequences of that urge.

The hallway ended as I went through the entrance to the female ward. This part of the asylum was so rundown and disgusting. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the few females that had to live with ceilings leaking filthy gutter water that left deep puddles of mud across the rusty, brick floors.

There were walls with cracks so deep that dust and asbestos coated the air, making it hard to breath. No one from administration bothered to do anything to make these living conditions so much as even sanitary. Complete bullshit if you ask me!

I made my way through the wet hallway with the bottom of my white scrub pants soaked in mud. Finally I arrived at Vera and Pamela's room, and Ray and the guards beat me to it of course. Mike stood in front of the door as Ray stepped out and closed it behind him. "I don't think so, Annapurna!" The jackass said as he held a hand out in front of me.

"Is she in there?"

"Yeah, Dave. She's still sedated! It's just that no one is allowed to go in there for the time being." Ray tiredly reassured. "What about Pamela?" I urgently asked. As I previously stated-like Vera and John, Pamela had also been missing in action.

None of the guards, Blaire or Trager ever mentioned her, which made me wonder whether or not she was even apart of whatever those other two were up to. My breath gradually increased, and I could barely contain the jumpiness of my nerves. I really hoped that Pamela was at least in the clear.

Carl and Mike snickered at my question as Ray overwhelmingly looked towards one of the laughing guards, and then back at me. "Well…apparently she was trying to get out through the front doors. When the guards stopped her, she gave them shit so they…"

"So they what?" I sharply barged, dreading to hear the answer.

"So they…dropped her off at Gluskin's" He said with a deep sigh.

"WHAT!"

Ever bit of bottle-up frustration that I had about this place exploded at that very instant. I could've sworn I felt the moisture and heat of stem blowing out of my ears as I threw my hands into the air in rage.

"You mean they gave her to Gluskin? SERIAL KILLER, WOMAN MUTILATOR GLUSKIN?" With a shrug and a smirk forming along the side of his lips he gave a put-off chuckle as he dared said to me, "Hey it's…not a big deal, Dave!"

"NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?" I shouted as I threw my hands in the air. Ray and the guards continued to smirk at what they saw as my unreasonable, overexcited reaction.

If I were anymore of an asshole, I would have stayed and smacked those smirks off their faces instead of dashing away to rescue Pamela from that maniac. "Oh fuck you, Assholes!" I said as I turned around and hurried away.

"I'm done! So fucking done!" I mumbled out loud. I rushed out of the female ward in pursuit of the vocational block. That's where they held him after many incidents of him going after male patients. This place was shitty and I knew that all along, but I never thought that the guards would even stoop to a level as low as this.

"I've had it with this place! I've fucking had it!" I ranted, my breath heavy from running through the halls. This was where I drew the line-when I officially decided that I wasn't going to be apart of this place anymore.

The route to the vocational block was a fast blur, paying absolutely no attention to what was around me. That's how upset I was with a fuming determination to get Pam out of whatever Gluskin was doing to her.

I hoped she was still in one piece, considering what he did to women before he ended up at Mount Massive. Luckily the policy here-and at any other mental hospital for that matter-was that the patients weren't allowed to have anything sharp. But who knows what kind of rules the guards were willing to break.

I finally reached the hall where Gluskin was held. It was dark and vacant with only the light from the smudged windows to dimly brighten up only partial sections of the hall. The worse part about it was that there were absolutely no personnel down here to monitor any activity in this part of the asylum.

How easy would it be for someone like Eddie Gluskin to have his way down here with another unfortunate soul? Moreover, these bastards allowed it to happen! That thought merely made my skin crawl.

As I reached around the corner on the right, I stopped in my tracks upon hearing faint cries coming from down the hall. "No! No Eddie…please…don't!" A terrified lady panicked. It sounded just like Pamela, pleading for her life in the hands of that sick maniac.

Through her continued whimpering I heard, Gluskin's anger voice, seeming to barely acknowledge her plea. I flinched as he spoke, hearing his stern, merciless tone quickly rising to a shout throughout his series of sentences.

"You fucking Bitch!" He quietly exclaimed through gritted teeth as Pamela continued to whimper. "No…Noooo…!" She pleaded. "You're no lady…and you're certainly NOBODY'S MOTHER!"

 _BANG_!

I nearly jumped as Pamela's body was thrown against the door, causing the frame to slam against the back wall underneath her. She clumsily hit the ground and landed on her side with the door collapsing sideways along the floor. The poor woman moaned from the pain caused by the harsh impact of her body crashing against the hard, wooden surface.

It took a few seconds before she decided to try and sit up. Her breath became heavy; automatically increasing as she struggled to straighten her stiff back and take a smooth, clear breath. As she weakly lifted her head, she saw me standing in the hallway about fifteen feet away.

Her eyes brightened in relief, and desperation widened the features of her face. My nerves ignited to see thick trails of blood draining from her nostrils, and trailing down the top and sides of her puffy lips. "Oh thank God!" She muttered as she reached a trembling head towards me. "Dave please…help me!" Just as I began to rush to her aid, Gluskin's shadow quickly over casted her fallen body.

The man-who was much bigger than I was might I add-came stomping out towards her, which made her violently shudder in fright. She scampered against the wall as he came out roaring, "I'll end you, you filthy, little whore!"

In an instant, I ran in front of Gluskin to shield Pamela from his horrifying wrath. It certainly wasn't a wise move on my part, boldly stepping in front of a man that was much bigger than I was, and stopping him from pursuing his intended prey.

Not to mention that there was no one else down here to step in if the man decided to take me down and pound me until I was nothing but a pancake. The man could've done whatever he wanted with the both of us, and no one would've even known it!

Regardless of what might have happened to me, I had to step in and access the situation as best as I could. I only hoped that Gluskin at least somewhat respected my authority as an orderly in this place. "Back off, Gluckin!" I abruptly demanded with an unsteady hand held out to block him.

He stopped right in his furious tracks, still holding that death stare across his face. His cold, unforgiving eyes were dead set on me, and I was sure that this guy was going to throw a punch. No matter how much warning he was giving me, nothing could even prepare me enough for a fight.

But oddly enough he didn't punch me. His gaze only became soft, and his eyes blinked into a calmer, gentler look. You would have thought that this would have put me at ease, but it really didn't. The way that his fury quickly diminished made my skin shiver with fright. "I…I'm taking her with me, Eddie! Alright?" I bravely declared.

Gluskin's mouth slightly opened as he continuously looked at me with love and affection plainly written in his eyes. It made me cringe from the uncertainly of what could've happened next. This man really was unpredictable. "Very well, Darling!" He responded in a warm, amicable tone.

 _Darling?_ Why the fuck was he calling me darling? I continued to shiver and shake as he shifted his loving, smiling gaze down towards Pamela. She frantically recoiled with her back pressed against the wall when I looked back at her, trembling and hyperventilating upon meeting his gaze.

"We'll finish this later, my Love." He warmly said to Pamela as he backed into his room. I backed away as he stopped within the doorway, and rested his hand on the frame. From his gleaming eyes he casted both of us a look of awe and affection, which made shivers race up and down my spine. With quivering hands, I picked her up, never taking my eyes off of Gluskin as I stood up with her resting in my arms.

"Oh God…thank you, Dave!" She cried with much gratitude and relief as I carried her bridal style down the hall. "What happened? How did you end up here?" I questioned her. "I…was just covering for Vera and John when…"

"You guys can't do that!" I snapped with a sigh.

"Well…did they make it?"

"They both got in trouble, Pamela! Just relax, okay? I'm taking you to the infirmary."

"Oh, Dave…Honey! I can't thank you enough! I thought he was going to kill me!" She exclaimed deliriously. "It's okay, I'm here!" I consoled as she buried her face into the side of my neck.

It was at that moment when I decided that this horseshit was the last straw. That night I wrote a final letter, giving those Murkoff assholes-more specifically Rick-fucking-Trager-a serious wake up call! I decided that I would quit if I had to, and then I would tell the whole fucking world Murkoff's dirty little secret.

Fuck that contract of secrecy that I'd previously signed, and as far as I was concerned, Murkoff could've gone straight to hell!

 **Sorry for the delay, but I had other projects to work on. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and the general direction that this story is heading towards. If you did or have any other thoughts, please leave a review. Next chapter coming soon everybody, but in the mean time, take care:)**


	6. Just Can't Lie to the Mad Doctor

I opened my eyes breathing in the cool, damp air at the first sight of the brown, cracked ceiling above me. Drops of water dripped down onto my forehead and made me flinch. They trailed down the creases of my head and into the corner of my right eye. Immediately I tried to lift my right hand to wipe away the drops but it wouldn't budge.

"What the...?"

As I sat up and tried to lift both hands up I saw that were held by restraints strapped to both sides of my bed. I frantically tried to tug them free but they were on really tight. "Unfortunately we had to use those, Honey!" Informed a low, friendly voice.

Startled and frightened I looked around for the source of that familiar voice, and saw none other than the mad doctor himself-Richard Trager. He was sitting on a chair placed right in front of the door of my cell. The lighting in this place was dim and I could barely see the features of his face through the darkness of that corner. Had this fucker been watching me sleep? Oh God, the mere sound of Trager's voice made me shudder! That light-hearted, upbeat tone was so genuine yet snarky.

Anyone who didn't know any better wouldn't think anything of his laid back demeanor, but I knew the truth. His laid back, friendly attitude only masked what he truly was-a psycho doctor who took delight in carving up his patients. A complete lunatic who enjoyed causing pain to others all for the joy of making a lousy buck. Underneath it all, Dr. Richard Trager was a madman, and that truth only made his laid back, friendly demeanor scary as hell!

Trager got up and walked over towards my bed. I tried to back into the wall next to me as he sat down on the edge of my bed but the restraints wouldn't give me so much of an inch. "Nice to see you finally woke up. It's only been three days." He chided with what had to be sarcasm.

The side of his hip brushed against my waist from where he sat. I looked up at him as he leaned over and looked down at me while the dimming light from the ceiling gleamed over his silhouette. That's when I noticed that he looked slightly different from the last time I saw him. He wasn't wearing that lab coat, only a white, button up shirt that hung over his lean torso, and a pair of brown cache pants.

His skin looked tighter and more rigid than before, and the bits of hair that hung down from the sides of his scalp appeared more brittle and straw like. A few grotesque looking scars were somehow carved into the tight skin right above his eye.

My God! Was he actually doing those experiments on himself? Why the hell would he do that? I remembered the horrifying sight in that white, frigid lab. The way those men were positioned inside that globe with their legs and arms stretched back past their heads made my skin crawl.

The sight of all of those large, metal tubes sticking out of their bodies sent chills down my spine. Why the fuck would he subject himself to that if he didn't have to? What did he hope to gain from it? Was _I_ going be experimented on next? Would Pammy and John suffer the same fate?

"What's going to happen to me?" I asked, unable to hide the anxiety in my voice. "Well, we haven't exactly decided that yet. If you don't give us any reason not to we just might give you a hand. But for now it's safe to say that you might know a little too much." He casually replied with a shrug.

"What? You talking about those nasty experiments going on in the lab, or the fact that you're carving up some of the patients downstairs?" I sassed. Despite being scared shitless of the mad doctor leaning over me, my temper quickly flared to a level that was beyond my control. I found myself struggling against the restraint even while knowing that it was a waste of effort.

"Yeah that!" He answered in a comical and cynical manner, "You see-the truth is there's opportunities presented in what we do even in a place like this. And with opportunity comes growth and most importantly... _profit_. You're a smart enough gall to understand that, aren't you?"

I stared up at him with what had to be the dumbest look on my face. I couldn't believe what he was saying! An opportunity for growth? What kind of opportunity could actually exist in a place like this where the staff treated us like dirt underneath their feet? There were only opportunities for high ranking Murkoff Executives to make money-all at our expense and it was absolutely disgusting!

Trager then lean further over as he shifted some of his weight on his hand, which he place next to the other side of my waist. His torso hovered over me so much that I could feel his breath on my face. His curious eyes stared deeply into mine as an interested smirk formed across his thin lips.

I fought the urge recoil into the bed, but my reflexes and fright overpowered my will. He clearly had more to talk about with a personal gesture like this. "So Jer looked up your file. He tells me you were a nurse before you...you know…kkhh." He said with an old gesture of running or "slicing" a finger across the throat.

"I didn't…"

"Didn't what?"

"Kill him! I didn't kill my husband if that's what you were getting at!"

Trager sat up and laughed at me when I said that. "Okay, Honey! Whatever you say!" I guess the man didn't find any worth in arguing with me unlike every other professional that I tried to convince. Unlike everyone else he was going to let me believe what I wanted to believe, but I knew I was telling the truth. There was no possible way I couldn't have killed him. I couldn't have done what I don't remember...right?

As he shook his head and chuckled to himself, I saw that Pammy's bed was empty. Those guards beat the shit out of her alright. She took one for the team when she distracted them for us, but now I needed to know what happened to her after that. Did they put her in the hole or did they do something else with her? I remembered hearing the name 'Gluskin' when they took her away. Was I crazy or did those men feed her to some scary, woman-hating psychopath?

"W...where's Pammy?" I asked in a quaky voice. "Oh, you mean your roommate? If you must know she's in the infirmary." He answered as he hovered back over me.

"Why?" I asked intimidated from the feel of his breath on my face yet again. I feared the possibility of her being hurt on account of my reckless high of wanting to get to the bottom of all of this bullshit. But if she was in the infirmary it had to be worse than I thought. And the worst part about it was that it was my fault!

"Well, let's just say she tried to waltz out of here today and assaulted a guard when she did it." he explained. Assaulted a guard? That's not what happened! She just threw a few stacks of papers at them! Were they really gonna call that assault? Were they really that stupid and petty?

My eye's and lips creased in the contradictory knowing that's not what happened, and Trager picked up on that. For a brief second he studied my reaction with a playful look forming across his smirking face.

"Wait a minute! Did you have something to do with that, Hun?"

My eyes widened as tears rushed towards each corner and my limbs shook from horror. The fact that he was still hovered over me made it even worse. I was so embarrassed and terrified that I couldn't hide my it with the look on my face. Trager only chuckled and shook his head as he read my face like an open book. "So she was helping you two after all, wasn't she?" He asked still snickering as he sat back up beside me.

Flashes of heat rushed towards my cheeks, and I could feel them getting rosier and rosier. My breathing stopped as a feeling like needles and pins poked up beneath my skin. I was at a complete loss for words as he continued to laugh and shake his head. "I'll be...I was right when I said we'd have to keep an eye on you, wasn't I?" He said, lightly slapped his right leg as he stopped laughing.

"Well, I suppose your roommate will be out of the infirmary soon, and...I guess we'll have to find out what we're going to do with both of you!" He said as he got up and walked towards the door, "In the meantime we'll keep you in here until we figure out what our next step is."

Trager stopped at the door, turned around and looked back at me as he placed a hand on the knob. "But don't you worry, Honey! I'm not giving up on you just yet." He declared in an encouraging tone as he pushed the door opened and walked out of the room.

My head spun from the horrifying thought of what they might have done to poor Tammy. Chills ran up and down my spine knowing that I would not see the last of the mad doctor. Now they knew that we were all in this together. I knew we'd get caught but I never thought about the consequences...just like always. Dave warned us but we didn't listen. _I_ didn't listen!

Now I got Pammy and John in trouble all because of that stupid impulse of mine. I get so many of them and I can never ignore them. It's like an itch I have to scratch, and this was one I couldn't just scratch, but claw until my skin turned bloody and red in what little hope there was to find relief. Because of that scratch there was no going back from all of this, and things were about to get even harder for the three of us.

 **Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. i know it was short but this conversation was essential to the direction in which the story is going. And I apologize for the long gap between this chapter and the last one. Besides being busy with my full time day job, I had a book to finish and publish. Now that's that's all done, i can focus on completing this story. Next chapter will be up soon so stay tuned.**


	7. The Things I do For Love

Chapter 7: The Things I Do For Love

I woke up strapped to a god damn chair, bright lights nearly blinding me as I opened my eyes. My head felt like it was splitting in half, and I lowered my wincing eyes down towards my lap. Those bastard fucking guards kept hitting me over and over until I blacked out!

Every now and then I would wake up on the ground seeing a guard standing over me only to be viciously greeted by his fist to my cheek. _Go back to sleep, Motherfucker!_ He'd say just before everything went black again.

Now here I was strapped to a fucking chair, but at least there wasn't a guard standing next to me waiting to knock me out this time. Vera was nowhere in sight and I was glad for it. I remember being back in that lab and throwing her out of harm's way just before the guards took me down.

She wanted to stay and help me. I could see it in her eyes, but I think she knew that there was nothing she could do. Vera was smart even for a chick.

I wondered where she was at that moment. None of the guards went after her when she took off. Well...not before they knocked me out cold anyway, and who knows what happened after that. Maybe she got away. I hoped she got away, but knowing how tight Murkoff ran this place it wasn't likely.

Me and Vera were lucky to have been able to get past those guards thanks to Pamela. At least she was safe and sound in the hole, or at least I hoped so.

"Someone's been sticking their nose in the cookie jar!"

My head shot up at the sound of that voice. I saw a man in a black suit sitting on a chair in a distant, dark corner. He was medium build with short, black hair that was combed back. My guess was that he was in his late thirties, and that suit he was wearing looked quite expensive.

"John Hawkins. Patient number 82359. Previously diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. Has been declared legally insane after beating your boss nearly to death all while claiming that a voice told you to do it. It's no wonder someone as insane as you would try something as stupid as this!" The man in the black suit commented with a malicious look on his face.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"I'm someone you really don't want to fuck with Mr. Hawkins. Did you really think that you wouldn't get caught snooping around in the lab? Did you really think that we wouldn't notice? Quite stupid of you Mr. Hawkins." The man in the black calmly patronized as he got up and walked towards me.

By the way this fucker was talking I figured he had to be someone important from within the Murkoff Corporation. Someone important enough to make decisions in this shithole, and he probably thought that anyone else outside this place with a brain would think nothing of the fucked up shit they were doing to us patients. "Oh yeah? And how exact do you suppose you'll keep this shit a secret? Someone's going to find out what you're doing sooner or later and it will be over for you!" I argued heatedly.

"That's where you're wrong Mr. Hawkins. We cover our tracks here, and anybody who gets any funny ideas? Let's just say we take good care of them!"

I didn't like the way he said that. His professional, collected tone darkened with that last sentence in such a way that made me shiver. After seeing what Murkoff was capable of I knew that this guy meant business.

"With that being said, it would be a real shame for anybody else to find out, and if would certainly be a shame for someone like _Lindsay_ to find out! Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Hawkins?" He maliciously taunted with an eyebrow raised above his dark, cold eye.

I couldn't believe that this fucker brought up my nine year old daughter! She meant the world to me and there was no way I was going to let anything happen to her. Her mother barely ever let me see her of course because she's a stuck up, money hungry bitch, but I knew that I meant the world to her.

We always found our way back to each other no matter what, and nothing could compare to the way her eyes would light up every time I walked in the door. There must have been something about her in my case file. That's probably how the man in the black suit found out about her.

This fucker enraged me so much that I found myself pulling against the restraints on my chair. Of course it didn't budge. These things were on pretty tight, but that didn't hold back the urge to darken this guy's fair, childed good looks with the black and blue hue of bruises.

"You leave my baby girl out of this you greedy motherfucker!"

"I can definitely do that Mr. Hawkins. All you have to do is keep your mouth shut and play along. Can you do that Mr. Hawkins? By the way, your doctor seems to think that you would make an excellent candidate for the Morphogenic Engine Program. So perhaps if you were to...volunteer? You catch my drift Mr. Hawkins?" He sneered with a cold look as he leaned in closer.

By the way this was going it didn't seem like I had a choice. I shuddered from the thought of that guy we saw in the clear, glass sphere. The way he was bent all backwards with huge tubes sticking out of his body. Butterflies fluttered around in my hollow stomach knowing that I was going to be next!

In the end I would do anything for my baby girl, and if doing this would keep her off of Murkoff's radar? Well, then I wouldn't so much as hesitate. Lord knew what else these motherfuckers might be capable of!

"Alright you greedy bastard!" I said gritting my teeth in despair, "I'll do it!"

The man in the black suit stood up straight and victoriously cracked a malevolent grin. "Very brave of you Mr. Hawkins! The Murkoff Corporation thanks you for your bravery and sacrifice…"

"Yeah! Yeah! Just make sure you leave my baby girl alone, will yah?" I interrupted knowing how insincere that rehearsed statement really was. "Of course, Mr. Hawkins! She'll be safe as long as you play along." He calmly instructed as that vicious smile lingered across his face.

Those butterflies flew around the empty walls of my stomach in rapid circles. I had just officially signed my life away to these greedy, inhumane bastards. _My_ _daughter will be safe_! _My daughter will be safe_!" I reminded myself over and over trying to find what little comfort there was in this fucked up situation.

The man in the black suit turned and motioned with a finger, and a guard emerged from the far dark corner next to the door. I didn't even notice him before! "Agent, perhaps you could give Mr. Hawkins another light anesthetic?" He suggested as that malevolent grin widening with a sadistic sense of pleasure.

"It'd be glad to, Mr. Blaire!"

With an eager smile the guard walked up and greeted me with the front end of one of his large, solid dukes. It only took two fast right hooks before everything went black again.


	8. A White Lie

Chapter 8

I waited for what seemed like hours in a dark corner, watching the door to a room diagonal from me and hoping to see Mr. Blaire walk out of it soon. John had been in there and I knew he took quite a beating from the guards after he was caught.

That was the kind of treatment these patients received in this place. No detailed treatment plans, no therapy and certainly no strictly keep schedule of daily meds. Only constant negligence followed by unnecessary beatings. Never had I seen such treatment in any other hospital I've worked at in the past. It just wasn't right and I couldn't stand to see it go on. I refused to take any further part in Murkoff's Mission.

Three days ago I put in my final letter to human resources, and I was confident that it would get the attention of that greedy executive, doctor wannabe Richard Trager. I even threatened to go to the press, and I would have told the whole world about Murkoff's dirty little secret.

Was it a good idea you ask? Fuck no it wasn't, and I was sure that they weren't going sit by and say _Okay, Dave! Here you go!_ Knowing what Murkoff could do I could have been very well signing my own death certificate, but that pit in my stomach dug itself deeper every time I just stood back and watched the abuse go on. No matter what might happen to me, something had to be done about it.

It was only three more minutes before the door finally opened. Blaire casually strode through the small ray of light that passed in between the cracked opening of the doorway from inside the room. That smug smile of satisfaction on his pretty boy face was as plain as day.

A guard walked out behind him, rubbing his heavily battered knuckles with a small, blood-stained towel. _Looks like they beat the shit out of that poor guy again!_ _God what's wrong with this place?_ I commented without a sound as I shook my head in disgust.

"You know the drill, Agent. No one in or out." Blaire instructed.

 _Shit! How am I going to get in there?_ I panicked, _Okay, think! Think!_

Then it came to me! We were coming up on 7 PM, and that's when all the patients were required to take their meds. I knew that these greedy motherfuckers weren't keeping to that schedule for Vera and John. Luckily I just happened to have their med schedules and pills on me, since they were my assigned patients after all!

So I decided that I would come up with a little white lie to get me in there. Even these guards couldn't ignore doctor's orders whether or not they did turn out to be fake. As Blaire walked down the hall and out of my line of sight I took the opportunity to make my move. Once the guard saw me coming he held out and hand to stop me.

"That's close enough, Annapurna. What do you want?"

"I'm here to give John- _my patient_ -his meds. So stand aside, Agent!"

"I don't think so, Shithead!"

This guy stared me down with deeply curved eyebrows and a mean, challenging scowl on his face, but I wasn't shook in the least. "Doctor's orders, Man! I don't need to tell you that's policy here, do I? Do I need to tell Doctor Brinkman that you're keeping me from medicating mine and his patient? Considering that he hasn't been getting his med-and I know he hasn't-I bet he'll have your ass thrown out faster that you can shit! So you best let me in!"

The guard only shook his head and roll his eyes in annoyance of my attitude. However mad that made him he knew I was right. "Whatever, Annapurna! Make it quick!" He said as he stood aside and placed his hand on the doorknob.

"Oh, and I was told by your boss to tell you there's a meeting for you guards going on in his office." I informed. That Ladies and Gentlemen was another white lie I came up with on the spot. Anything to get that bastard away for a short amount of time, and I thought he just might be stupid enough to fall for it...hopefully.

"Why didn't he radio me?" The guard asked pointing to the large radio fastened on the side of his belt. "How the hell should I know, Man?" I grumbled with a shrug, "Maybe he didn't have it with him! I'm just the messenger here!" I watched as he lowered his head with an exasperated sigh. Man I sounded convincing! "Fine! But don't try anything smart, Annapurna!" He said as he lifted his head back up and gave me a fierce glare.

"What the fuck am I gonna do? I got more patients to medicate and only an hour to do it!"

Without a word the guard walked away and ignored my last comment. He didn't even glance back or shake his head like I thought he would. I watched as he quickly disappeared into the blackness of the hallway, and then I opened the door.

There was John sitting in a chair with his head hanging down towards his lap. His wrists and ankles had been strapped to the chair's armrests and legs. He was clearly unconscious with bloody splatter marks staining the white fabric of his shirt.

I quickly walked over, crouched down in front of him and set the clipboard on the floor. "John! John, wake up!" I urged quietly lifting his head and giving him a few light slaps on his cheek. Slowly he opened his eyes, completely dazed and unaware of what was going on. "Hey! It's me David! You okay, Bud?" I asked meeting him a eye level with a worried look.

John blinked his eyes a few times as the dim light shining from the ceiling nearly blinded him. They must have battered him up pretty well if he was that sensitive to light that really wasn't that bright. It took a few squints before he realized that it was me crouching in front of him-not Blaire or any of the guards that beat the hell out of him, but me.

"Oh, hey Dave!" He said softly, gazing into my eyes with a look of surprise. John looked around the room and then back at me. His eyes closed and a sigh of relief came out through his lips when he realized that none of them were there, and that it was only me. "That's right, Man! They're gone. Now tell me what the hell you two were doing in the lab?" I demanded.

"Where's Pam and Vera? Are they okay?"

"Vera's as fine as she can be. She's under heavy guard like you."

"What about Pam?"

I stared at him for a few seconds, bracing myself to dish out the grave news. "She's in the infirmary, John. Guards gave her to Gluskin after she got caught trying to escape, and I bet you two had something to do with that, didn't you?" I scolded pointing my finger at him.

"They what? No! I thought they took her to the hole!"

"Nope! They didn't!"

John looked down towards his lap, a frown of despair forming across his thin lips. "Oh, shit! Oh, shit, Dave! I didn't think something like that would happen! It was her idea after all!" He whined.

"Who? Vera's?"

"No, Pam's! She said she'd distract the guards so we could get past them. She wanted to go to the hole for us so we could find out what was going on around here!" John whined some more.

"And what did you find out, John?"

"They're experimenting on us, Dave! Shoving patients in little glass balls with tubes sticking out of them. Did you know that?" He asked with the innocents of a child. After a defeated sigh I looked down towards the floor, having no idea what to tell him.

Truth be told I did know about it and I couldn't live with that anymore, but how could I tell him that? Thankfully he seemed too dazed and delirious to be concerned about that at the moment. "Come on!" I said looking back up at him, "Let's go!"

"W...where are we going?" He asked surprised to see me unfastening the restraints around his wrists and ankles. "I don't know yet" I answered helping him up out of the chair, "Just stand up and walk with me before the guard comes back!"

Honestly at that moment I didn't know what I was thinking, but I guessed I would figure that out as I went along. All I knew was that I just had get John out of that room, and somehow get him, Vera and Pamela out of harm's way.


End file.
